tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149862772018-02-03T08:08:36.876+02:00Heichal HaNegina"The Heichal HaNegina IS itself the Heichal HaTeshuva!" -- Divrei Yisrael, the first Modzitzer Rebbe. An appreciation of the Jewish melodies of Modzitz, Carlebach, Twerski and more...and Chassidic stories.yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.comBlogger318125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-64282031540986918242014-09-17T12:23:00.000+03:002014-09-17T12:23:19.168+03:00New Book of Stories - Saturday Night, Full Moon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn3.volusion.com/emzrc.ymnny/v/vspfiles/photos/YTSaturdayNight-2.jpg?1393996448" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_316656="null" src="http://cdn3.volusion.com/emzrc.ymnny/v/vspfiles/photos/YTSaturdayNight-2.jpg?1393996448" dua="true" height="400" width="263" /></a></div><br /><br />A few months ago, my good friend and esteemed colleague, Yerachmiel Tilles of <a href="http://ascentofsafed.com/">Ascent of Safed</a> [Tzfat], released his first book of stories. For several years now, Yerachmiel sends out a weekly story from Ascent via e-mail. Many of these stories he's been sharing at Ascent on a Saturday night Melave Malka in Tzfat, for even more years. The stories run the gamut, from the days of the Arizal and his disciples in 16th Century Tzfat, to modern times, with much in between. While they cover mostly the Chassidic and Kabbalistic world, even that is not exclusively so. Several of his stories have graced this blog as well...<strong>HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! </strong><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ascentofsafed.com/images/yt-storytelling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_316656="null" src="http://ascentofsafed.com/images/yt-storytelling.JPG" dua="true" height="188" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Above you see Yerachmiel sitting around the table at Ascent in Tzfat, no doubt in the middle of sharing another wonderful story!</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">You can order the book <a href="http://www.kabbalaonline-shop.com/Saturday-Night-Full-Moon-by-Tilles-p/ytsaturdaynight.htm">here</a>, and you'll be delighted you did!</div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-46375680818277170132014-07-29T00:13:00.004+03:002014-07-29T00:13:51.769+03:00Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev comes to....Gaza!<em>After a long hiatus, I could not resist sharing the following story, which was posted on the <a href="http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2014/07/28/the-berditchiver-in-gaza/">Cross-Currents</a> site. I have done some light editing, added some links and a picture.</em><br /><em></em><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zX67Bjq4qwE/U9a5mCR0YhI/AAAAAAAAAuM/7yRUmz3madY/s1600/RLY+Defender+of+Israel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_416340="null" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zX67Bjq4qwE/U9a5mCR0YhI/AAAAAAAAAuM/7yRUmz3madY/s1600/RLY+Defender+of+Israel.jpg" height="320" width="208" yua="true" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Berditchever in Gaza</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>by Yitzchok Adlerstein, on July 28th, 2014</em></strong></div><br />I cannot reveal my source. All I can say is that it happened as he patrolled late at night in a Beit Hanoun street abandoned by its residents, walking a few paces ahead of the rest of his unit. He saw a figure, standing to the side, shrouded in light. “<em>Shalom alecha</em>, my son,” he said. His voice was redolent with peace and tranquility. My friend instantly realized that this figure was not of this world, and responded, “<em>Shalom alecha, rabi u-mori</em>. I presume that you are Eliyahu ha-Navi?” The figure smiled. “Not quite. They used to call me Levi Yitzchak, and I have been watching the events here with keen interest. I had to come back to revise <a href="http://www.beingjewish.com/yomtov/kippur/song.html">one of my more famous songs</a> – <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgUADRle1qQ">A Din Toyre Mit G-tt</a></em>.” He handed my friend a handwritten scrap of paper, and vanished into the night.<br /><br />Good morning to You, <em>Ribono shel Olam</em>.<br />I, Levi Yitzchak, son of Sarah Sosha of Berditchev,<br />I come to you with a <em>Din Torah </em>from Your people, Yisrael.<br />What do you want of Your people Yisrael?<br />For everywhere I look it says, “Say to the People of Israel.”<br />And every other verse says, “Speak to the People of Israel.”<br />Over and over, “Command the People of Israel.”<br /><br />Merciful Father! How many nations are there in the world?<br />Persians, Babylonians, Edomites…<br />The Scandanavians, what do they say?<br />That there is no G-d.<br />The Persians and Arabs, what do they say?<br />That G-d is a bloodthirsty maniac.<br />And the English, what do they say?<br />That G-d is no longer relevant.<br /><br />But Your people, Yisrael, what do they say?<br /><em>Ani Ma’amin. Yisrael b’tach baShem.</em><br />These are the songs their sons sing as they march to and from battle with those who scoff at You.<br />And how I wish they only scoffed! But they rain down their rockets upon your holy Land and its inhabitants, who look to You for protection,<br />While the enemy sends their sons to burrow through the ground in the hope of slaughtering the innocent.<br />And those nations look on, and heap scorn and hatred upon us for simply surviving.<br />After two thousand years of exile, they have learned to tolerate us.<br />But only if we are dead.<br /><br />If Yisrael and its Torah and You are all One, Whom do they really malign?<br />Is it not You they ridicule, not just us?<br />A few weeks ago, I thought I understood what You wanted. <br />You have always chastised us, because You care about us, and discipline us for our good.<br />But You have always warned us first.<br /><br />You told us that if we would follow You inconsistently – <em>b’keri </em>– You would do the same.<br />We have been guilty of that.<br />But surely You have taken note of how this holy nation has lived in the last weeks, steadfastly turning to You – even those who ordinarily don’t bother?<br />Was it not a special moment when a government official who had not entered a <em>shul </em>since his son’s <em>bar-mitzva </em>searched his house for his grandfather’s <em>Siddur </em>so that he, too, could turn to You with the rest of the country?<br /><br />Did You not take pleasure in the <em>Shema Yisrael </em>spelled out by the lights of a tower in Tel Aviv, the “secular” city?<br />How often before did You witness tens of thousands of people gather to beseech you, observant and non-observant together, as they did there when we still thought that the three <em>kedoshim </em>were alive?<br />(And speaking of the three <em>kedoshim </em>– did You not have to shed a Divine tear over the story of the bar-mitzva boy, Gilad Shaar, who sought out Rav Yitzchak David Grossman to find out how to merit sanctifying Your Name?)<br /><br />You warned us again in the <em>Gemara </em>that the galus would be prolonged because of <em>sinas chinam</em>.<br />Have You ever witnessed as much <em>ahavas chinam </em>as in the last week? Thirty-thousand people attending the <em>levaya </em>of someone they did not know?<br /><br />Lines down the halls of hospitals, strangers waiting patiently to offer words of encouragement to wounded soldiers they never met?<br />Hordes of people descending on the border (despite the rockets) to offer gifts to the soldiers of <em>Tzahal </em>fighting for Your honor?<br /><br />You warned us not to fall into the <em>kochi v’otzem yadi </em>trap.<br />You got us on that one! Close to five decades ago, You granted us a spectacular victory. Some realized it was from You; too many others credited the might of their planes and their prowess.<br />Years and years went by, and with few exceptions, the <em>Rosh Memshala </em>did not speak about You.<br /><br />But this week, praising the accomplishments of our soldiers, the political leader of the country ended his speech with these words: “With the Almighty’s help, and theirs, we will succeed.”<br />He put You first, where You belong. <br /><br />You must have noticed how different the mood is this time. With all the success of the technology You have given us the intelligence to design, more people credited the Big <em>Kippa </em>than the Iron Dome for our incredible salvation.<br />(Even the evil ones had to declare in inch-high headlines, “Their G-d Changes the Path of Our Rockets in Mid-Air, Says Terrorist.”)<br /><br />If this is not full, national <em>teshuva</em>, does it not count at least as a full national <em>chudo shel machat</em>?<br />Should that not suffice?<br /><br />What more do you want of Your people Yisrael?<br />We will gladly do it – so long as You will allow us to come closer to You, and You will continue to show Your love for us.<br />The others continue to blaspheme You.<br /><br />But I, Levi Yitzchak son of Sarah Sosha of Berditchev, say:<br />“<em>Yisgadal v’yiskadash sh’mei raba</em>/Glorified and sanctified be Your great name.”<br /><br />And I, Levi Yitzchak, son of Sarah Sosha of Berditchev, say:<br />From my stand I will not waver.<br />And from my place I shall not move<br />until there be an end to this exile.<br /><br /><em>“Yisgadal v’yiskadash sh’mei raba”</em>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-45689060671698266632011-06-01T18:01:00.004+03:002011-06-01T18:18:15.405+03:00The Weeping Paratrooper's Tefillin<div align="center"><em>In honor of Yom Yerushalayim, which began last night and continues till nightfall today, I bring you the following story. I have translated it from the recent B'Sheva weekly. </em></div><br /><div align="center"><em><br /></em><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Weeping Paratrooper's <em>Tefillin </em><br /></span>by Oded Mizrahi – B'Sheva, 23 Iyar 5771 </strong></div><strong><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 286px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613270559280551954" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vRTCV5018bY/TeZX1VITWBI/AAAAAAAAArM/E-UnDZcbUWM/s400/Liberating%2BKosel%2B-%2Bfirst%2Btefillos.jpg" /><br /><br /><div align="left"></strong></div>During the Six-Day War, Avraham was a runner for the Paratrooper Company Commander in the 71st Battalion. When the battle was decided in Sinai, the regiment was summoned up to fight in Jerusalem. After his Company Commander, Yoram Zamush, accepted the mission to break into the Old City, he turned to Avraham and said: "Take your <em>tefillin</em>, because tomorrow we will be at the <em>Kotel </em>[Western Wall]! Surely a lot of guys will want to put them on."<br />Avraham excitedly went to one of the other Companies, where his friend, Moshe Grossberg, one of the last Jews born in the Old City, and told him tearfully: "Moisheleh, tomorrow our Company will break into the Old City. Take your <em>tefillin</em>, so they could put them on at the <em>Kotel </em>tomorrow."<br />Moshe laughed in disbelief, but still took the <em>tefillin</em>.<br />The campaign included fierce fighting at the Jordanian police academy and at Ammunition Hill. Finally, the command to enter the Old City came from the Brigade Commander, Motta Gur. The paratroopers broke through Lions’ Gate and reached the Wall. Once he reached the Wall, Avraham buried his head between the stones and began to cry. Then he took the <em>tefillin </em>that were in his pouch and began to put on the <em>Tefillin shel Yad </em>[hand-<em>tefillin</em>]. A secular soldier grabbed his <em>Tefillin shel Rosh </em>[head-<em>tefillin</em>] and put them on. No one could just stand in front of Western Wall. Some put on <em>Tefillin shel Yad</em>, others <em>Tefillin shel Rosh</em>, while still others prayed. Everyone felt that something had to be done <em>b’Kedusha -</em> in sanctity. After the initial excitement, Avraham and some friends got up on the ledge and hung an Israeli flag. Later Avraham’s picture, with his face buried in the wall, was published, and he became known as "the weeping paratrooper."<br /><br /><div align="left">More than six years passed, and the Yom Kippur War broke out. Paratroopers were recruited, this time led by Danny Matt. After two weeks, an order came to cross the [Suez] Canal. The Brigade Commander gave the order and prepared his soldiers for a difficult battle, saying that "not everyone will return. Those who are afraid can stay behind." There was a plan to transfer a limited number of fighters to see what the Egyptian reaction would be. The forces lowered a "portable bridge" into the water, and the fighters, including Avraham, passed through the Canal and returned to the other side. Then they threw hand grenades into the water so that the Egyptian commando fighters would not dive in and blow up the bridge.<br />On Friday at one o'clock in the afternoon, the Egyptians attacked with fifteen MiGs. Four Israeli Mirages fought them at point-blank range in the air, and downed them one by one. During the air battle, one of the MiGs went down to the Canal and fired rockets at the Israeli ground forces. Avraham was in the trench and one of the rockets hit his ammunition pouch and exploded. Shrapnel penetrated his stomach and his feet. The <em>tefillin </em>that were between him and his ammunition prevented a far more serious injury. He was wounded, and immediately evacuated to the Regiment’s meeting station. From there, he was taken to hospital in Refidim, where they took out the shrapnel with tweezers. He was then taken to a hospital in the home front, but caught a ride on an armored personnel carrier on Friday afternoon, and returned to his Company.<br />When he returned to his kibbutz, Shluchot, for a furlough, he took the <em>tefillin </em>that was damaged to a scribe from the kibbutz and asked him to repair them. The scribe took them, and gave Avraham a replacement pair of <em>tefillin </em>to use. Upon completing his army service, Avraham returned home and received the <em>tefillin</em>. The scribe painted the boxes and the straps, and said that he replaced one of the four <em>parshiot </em>[parchments] of the <em>Tefillin shel Rosh</em>, and now they were all right.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">Fourteen years later, Avraham arrived in New York, where he lived with his relatives. He told a relative: "I want to see what the story of the Lubavitcher Rebbe is about."<br />"Come on, don’t go," said a relative, "There are so many people standing in line."<br />Nevertheless, he went to the Beit Midrash of the Rebbe, and waited in the line for the distribution of dollars for over two hours. When it was Avraham’s turn, the [Rebbe’s] secretary asked him: "What's your name?"<br />"Avraham Meir ben Yoel, from Israel."<br />"Do you know <em>Yiddish</em>?" asked the secretary.<br />"A <em>bissel </em>(a little bit)," said Avraham.<br />Avraham entered. The Rebbe saw him and said in <em>Yiddish</em>, "You are one of the special people," and then continued in Hebrew, "and you were protected from Heaven." Finally, he gave him a dollar bill. Avraham did not understand exactly what the Rebbe had meant.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">Twenty-one more years passed. One day, the Rav collected all the <em>tefillin </em>of the kibbutz members for a thorough inspection in Yerushalayim, at the scribal institute, "<em>Oter Yisrael</em>." Avraham told the Rav that if his <em>tefillin </em>were found to be <em>pasul </em>[invalid], he wants them back [anyway], and told him the story of <em>tefillin </em>during the Six-Day and Yom Kippur Wars. After a long while, the Rav called him and announced: "Your <em>tefillin </em>were invalid. There was a large rip at the verse of <em>Shema Yisrael</em>."<br />Avraham was astonished. He recalled the scribe that replaced some thirty-five years ago one <em>parsha </em>of the <em>Tefillin shel Rosh </em>and did not find any further problem. He told this to the Rav. Finally, it was decided to replace all the <em>parshiot</em>. </div><br /><div align="left">The old <em>parshiot </em>with the rip are still in Avraham’s possession, and they remind him that the <em>tefillin </em>with which he shared with the first paratroopers to reach to <em>Kotel</em>, <strong><u>they</u></strong> are what saved him in the Yom Kippur War. </div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-24926496921525201222011-03-14T10:20:00.002+02:002011-03-14T10:26:53.119+02:00A Shabbos with the Rebbe Shlita in MeronWords cannot really describe the uplift our souls felt this past Shabbos, <em>Parshas Vayikra</em>, that we were <em>zoche</em> [merited] to spend with our Rebbe, the Modzitzer Rebbe <em>Shlita</em>, in Meron, near the <em>Tzion </em>[gravesite] of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, author of the <em>Zohar </em>and a famous <em>Tanna </em>[Mishnaic rabbi] as well.<br />That being the case, perhaps the following video will give you a tiny taste of the joyous ecstasy we experienced in the Rebbe <em>Shlita's </em>presence this past Shabbos...<br /><br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3Df0zq93WvU" frameborder="0" width="640"></iframe>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-88465333964796705952010-06-20T12:46:00.004+03:002010-06-20T13:01:46.321+03:00Rav Mordechai Eliyahu Ztvk"l and the CHIDA<div><em></em><div><em>We are still in the 30-day mourning period for the great Rav, former Rishon L’Zion [Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel], Rabbi Mordechai Tzemach ben Suliman Eliyahu ztvk”l. He was buried on Har HaMenuchos near the CHIDA. But his connection to the CHIDA began much earlier, as we shall see below…But first, some background:</em><br /></div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kCS6CxWI/AAAAAAAAApw/FGZkqmLcjlU/s1600/CHIDA+-+R.+Chaim_Yosef_David_Azulai.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 293px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484790649293292898" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kCS6CxWI/AAAAAAAAApw/FGZkqmLcjlU/s400/CHIDA+-+R.+Chaim_Yosef_David_Azulai.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Rav Chaim Yosef David Azulai</b> (circa 5484-5566; 1724-1806), better known as the "CHIDA," which are the initials of his name, was a Halachist, Kabbalist, historian and bibliographer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The CHIDA was one of the most fascinating and multi-faceted figures in Jewish history.<span style=""> </span>He was highly respected for his great piety and scholarship, and wrote no less than 71 works. Thanks to his work, many works of other authors came to light.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Born in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city> he became a scholar of the first rank, studying under prominent scholars of the old Yishuv: Rav Yitzchak HaKohen Rappaport, Rav Shalom Sharabi [the Rashash], and Rav Chaim ben-Atar (the Ohr HaChaim).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In 1753, at the age of 29, he traveled to <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> as an emissary of the communities of Eretz Yisrael and again in 1772 on behalf of Chevron. Each trip lasted in excess of 5 years. He served as the Rav of Cairo (<st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region></st1:place>) for five years. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wherever he visited, the CHIDA made sure to inspect the important libraries and thus became familiar with many thousands of manuscripts.<span style=""> </span>Out of these visits grew his remarkably compact and informative classic bibliographic and biographic work, Shem HaGedolim. The first part of the sefer contained biographies of some 1,300 scholars.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The second part, entitled "Vaad LaChachamim" (Assembly of the Wise Ones) enumerates some 2,200 works, published and unpublished, and describes their contents. Many of the books mentioned had never been heard of, and important facts about many authors and their books would have been lost to us but for this great work of the CHIDA. It was later revised and supplemented by various scholars at different times. The "Shem HaGedolim" has thus become one of the most important and invaluable source books of Jewish literature and history.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the year 1778, Rav Chaim Yosef David Azulai completed his second trip, and settled in the quiet and prosperous Jewish community of Livorno (<st1:city st="on">Leghorn</st1:city>), <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, to begin writing his major works. <st1:place st="on">Livorno</st1:place> was then a center of Hebrew printing, wherein the CHIDA found all the necessary facilities for publishing his works. He passed away in 1806 at the ripe old age of <st1:metricconverter productid="82, in" st="on">82, in</st1:metricconverter> <st1:place st="on">Livorno</st1:place>, and was buried there.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">***</p><br /><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">“G-d will grant you special </span><st1:city style="font-weight: bold;" st="on"><st1:place st="on">Providence</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-weight: bold;">, and bring my remains out of this place.”</span> [<span style="font-style: italic;">Breishis, </span>50:25] <div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">“He said to me, ‘Can these bones live?’…As I prophesied, there was a roaring sound, and the bones came together and joined one another... ‘I am going to open your graves; I will take you out of your graves, My People, and bring you to the </span><st1:place style="font-weight: bold;" st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Israel</st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-weight: bold;">.’ ”</span> [<span style="font-style: italic;">Yechezkel, </span>37:3, 7, 12].</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>The following story appears in a number of versions. Although details from the various versions may be included below, where the story differed from the version that Rav Eliyahu himself told, I have used his version:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A century and a half later, the Rishon L’Zion, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, was Rav Yitzchak Nissim, who had a special appreciation and admiration for the CHIDA, his deeds and his writings. One of his friends was Dr. Shlomo Umberto Nachon, a native of Livorno who had made Aliya to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Dr. Nachon was instrumental in bringing major artifacts from Italian synagogues to Eretz Yisrael, such as Aronei Kodesh, ancient handwritten manuscripts and the like. In 5712 [1952], he founded the Italian Synagogue in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">A few years later, they learned that the Italian authorities wished to build a highway through the Jewish cemetery. At this point, Rav Nissim and Dr. Nachon understood the urgency of the situation, and decided it was time to reinter the CHIDA in Eretz Yisrael. While Dr. Nachon made the arrangements with the authorities in <st1:place st="on">Livorno</st1:place>, Rav Nissim, after much coaxing, commissioned then 31-year-old Rav Mordechai Eliyahu to head a team of esteemed Sephardic rabbis for the reinterring in Yerushalayim.</p> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kCEIZAnI/AAAAAAAAApo/r0-fbk5UHiM/s1600/Baba+Sali.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 289px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484790645326938738" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kCEIZAnI/AAAAAAAAApo/r0-fbk5UHiM/s400/Baba+Sali.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kBx-3mJI/AAAAAAAAApg/E1iUpAYMKuw/s1600/BABA+HAKI.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 291px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484790640455162002" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kBx-3mJI/AAAAAAAAApg/E1iUpAYMKuw/s400/BABA+HAKI.jpg" border="0" /></a><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">[Above: the Baba Sali and his brother, the Baba Haki]<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">So in the year 5720 [1960], the Rishon L’Zion, Rabbi Yitzchak Nissim, told Rav Eliyahu and<span style=""> </span>Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira [the Baba Sali] along with the Baba Haki and other rabbis, to take care of reinterring the bones of the CHIDA.</span></span><span style=""> The Baba Haki was the Baba Sali’s brother, and a leading rabbi in the city of <st1:city st="on">Ramle</st1:city> who was familiar with Jewish burials in his native <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Morocco</st1:place></st1:country-region>. </span><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kCvGyRgI/AAAAAAAAAp4/1DJk8SXjMio/s1600/Rav+Mordechai+Eliyahu+full.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 268px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484790656862930434" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/TB3kCvGyRgI/AAAAAAAAAp4/1DJk8SXjMio/s400/Rav+Mordechai+Eliyahu+full.jpg" border="0" /></a><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">[Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l]<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Rav Eliyahu related that when he arrived at <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Lod</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Airport</st1:placetype></st1:place> with the other rabbis, he met with the agency representative who had brought the bones of the CHIDA in a small wooden coffin.<span style=""> </span>When he saw it, Rav Eliyahu was appalled, and </span>asked,<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"> “What is this? His bones are rolling around in a coffin? How could such a thing be?!?”</span> </span><br />Rav Eliyahu then asked that a larger coffin be brought, so that the bones could be transferred to it, for an honorable burial. <span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Immediately, he requested that the Baba Haki's driver go with his driver, immerse in a mikva [ritual bath], and buy a Phillips screwdriver to open the coffin. When they returned, the Rav made a large hole in the bottom of the coffin so that there would be no barrier between the bones and the soil upon burial. But for now, the hole was closed with a [rubber?] stopper. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Rav Eliyahu, about whom it was known that he was familiar with the CHIDA’s writings, inside and out, opened the coffin, and put his hand in to arrange the bones. Then he closed his eyes and asked pleadingly from the CHIDA, that he should put himself in order, since he has no power to put the bones in order. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Immediately a powerful, almost explosive sound was heard, the coffin began to shake, and a rattling sound - made by the CHIDA's remains striking the coffin's walls - was heard. All of the other rabbis fainted on the spot. Rav Mordechai did not faint, saying that this occurred because he was absorbed with the mitzva. And behold, it was incredible -- real resurrection, the bones managed to put themselves in order, bone by bone, until the entire body was in order -- in the merit of the holy master, the CHIDA!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">The funeral went out from the <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city></st1:place> neighborhood of Sanhedria, with thousands accompanying him on his way to Har HaMenuchos. At the burial, Rav Eliyahu related, he was also able to remove the stopper from the hole he made at the bottom of the coffin, so that the body should be in contact with the soil of Eretz Yisrael. Rav Eliyahu described these events as “Nisei nissim, utter miracles.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Later Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu said that whoever needs to be saved, should go to pray at the grave of the CHIDA. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Is it any wonder that Rav Eliyahu is buried near the CHIDA???<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Zechutam yagein Aleinu v’al Kol Yisrael – may the CHIDA’s and Rav Eliyahu’s merits protect us all!<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><o:p>***********************<br /></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">Some of the Sources:<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111929/jewish/Rabbi-Chaim-Joseph-David-Azulai.htm">Chabad.org Bio</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><a href="http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/beshalah/are.html">Bar-Ilan University<o:p></o:p></a></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><a href="http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/chida.html">Tzemach Dovid </a><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="longtext"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><a href="http://www.yeshiva.org.il/wiki/index.php?title=%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%93%D7%9B%D7%99_%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%94%D7%95">Wikishiva on R. Mordechai Eliyahu</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div></div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-46594488232212091102010-02-04T17:41:00.003+02:002010-02-04T17:54:41.544+02:00THE DANCE OF PROPHECY<div>I received this wonderful piece below from the author, who dedicated it as follows:</div><br /><div><em>I want to dedicate this drasha to the memory of my aunt, Miriam bat Reb Zvi (Fleisher) z"l, who died peacefully a few days ago at the age of 90. After escaping Europe at the beginning of World War Two, she made her way to North Africa and eventually to the States. She was there to receive my father (may he be blessed with many more years of good health and happiness) when he arrived after the Shoah, and to help him start a new life. May her memory be blessed. </em></div><br /><div>I would also like to dedicate it to the memory of <u>my</u> beloved father-in-law, R. Leibush ben Moshe Shmiel, a Holocaust survivor who passed away on 17 Shvat [early Monday morning in Israel]. He was a dedicated Jew who did everything for his family, and was rewarded with much Jewish <em>nachas </em>from his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, who are all observant Jews, and most of which live in Eretz Yisrael, where he spent his final years. <em>Yehi zichro Baruch </em>-- may his memory be for a blessing!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>*****</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">THE DANCE OF PROPHECY<br /></span><em>PARSHAT YITRO 5770, by Rav Zvi Leshem<br /></em></strong></div><div><strong><em><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434416952516178130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 329px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/S2rtbPAWcNI/AAAAAAAAAoo/ifl0afqkY50/s400/Musicians+in+Nature+-+E.+Succot.jpg" border="0" /></div></em></strong><div><br />Receiving the Torah in our <em>parsha </em>is of course a peak prophetic experience for <em>Am Yisrael</em>. Amongst the descriptions of this experience is that <em>Am Yisrael </em>were seeing the voices. <a name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> In this context, the <em>Degel Machaneh Ephraim </em>quotes an astounding allegory from his grandfather, the holy <strong>Baal Shem Tov</strong>.<br /><br /><em>There was once a musician who played such beautiful music that those who heard him were unable to restrain themselves, and they danced almost to the ceiling due to the great pleasure and sweetness. Anyone who passed by would stop to listen and then also join in the ecstatic dance. A deaf person passed by who could not hear the music; he just saw people dancing wildly, and he thought they were insane. Had he been wise he would have realized that they were dancing to beautiful music and he would have also joined in.<br /></em><br />The centrality of dance in Chassidut is well documented. A form of <em>avoda </em>in and of itself, it is also a mystical technique designed to raise the dancer to a state of spiritual ecstasy and open him up to receive prophecy or <em>Ruach HaKodesh</em>. Thus, early Chassidic groups were a replay of the <em>Bnei HaNeviim</em>, the bands of student-prophets in Biblical times who used music and meditation to achieve and altered state of consciousness that was conducive to the reception of <em>Nevua </em>[prophecy]. <a name="_ftnref2">[2]</a><br /><br />The <em>Degel Machaneh Ephraim </em>explains his grandfather's story to mean that the angels, who were unable to hear Hashem's voice addressing the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, nonetheless saw the ecstatic bliss of the people and approached, attempting to also enjoy the great sweetness and pleasure of the Torah. In this we have an advantage over the angels, as Hashem is talking to us! When you hear the Ten Commandments being read this Shabbat morning, close you eyes and try to visualize the letters and words as you hear them. Hashem is revealing His holy Torah to you – let yourself dance to the beautiful music!<br /><strong><u>NOTES: </u></strong><br /><a name="_ftn1">[1]</a> <em>Shemot </em>20:15. See our <em>Redemptions</em>, pp. 104-5.<br /><a name="_ftn2">[2]</a> This is of course a major theme in the Piaseczner Rebbe's plan for secret groups of Chassidic mystics who used dance as well as other techniques in order to try to receive prophecy. His <em>Bnei Machshava Tova </em>groups were modeled explicitly upon the Biblical <em>Bnei HaNeviim</em>. See our dissertation, <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/6920988/Zvi-Leshem-Dissertation" target="_blank">Between Messianism and Prophecy</a><a name="jx6_"></a> the chapters on Chassidism as prophecy and on spiritual groups. On dance as a mystical technique see pp. 81-83, especially notes 262, 263. </div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-66821951591121171652010-01-20T18:13:00.002+02:002010-01-20T18:26:51.446+02:00The Soldiers' RebbeToday was <em>Heh </em>[the 5th of] Shvat, and the <em>Yahrzeit </em>of <em>HaRav HaKadosh </em>Rebbe Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter, better known as the <em>Sfas Emes</em>, the second Gerer Rebbe.<br />He was the son of R. Avraham Mordechai zt"l, who was the eldest son of the <em>Chiddushei HaRim </em>[the first Rebbe] of Ger. He was born on <em>Erev Rosh Chodesh </em>Iyar 5607 (1847), and as a boy of only two, he was orphaned of his mother. When he was about nine years old, his father was also <em>niftar </em>[passed away], and he was brought up by his holy grandfather.<br /><br />Previous posts:<br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/02/shabbos-of-song-and-song-of-birds.html">The <em>Sfas Emes </em>on <em>Shiras HaYam</em></a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2008/01/man-of-truth-becomes-rebbe.html">A Man of Truth Becomes a Rebbe</a><br /><br /><em>The <strong>Sfas Emes' </strong>concern for the plight of Jewish men liable to conscription in the Russian or Polish army, was legendary. The following is from an article on him on a </em><a href="http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/breslevpedia/the_sfat_emet_rabbi_yehuda_leib_alter.aspx?id=1226&amp;language=english"><em>Breslov website</em></a><em>; but we have interwoven a <strong>Reb Shlomo Carlebach </strong>story which brings out the point even more strongly. So without further ado, onward march!<br /></em><br />************<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">THE SOLDIERS' REBBE<br /></span></strong>Throughout our long and bitter exile, the times when young Jewish men and boys were conscripted into the army of their host country was always an <em>eis tzara </em>[time of distress]. It denoted fear of the unknown, dread of what the future would bring and desperate efforts to bribe anyone who had a say in the government.<br />The days of the <em>Sfas Emes </em>zt"l were no different. As soon as the conscription time began, a long line would form outside his home in Ger and, like a caring shepherd, he would give each person in turn a <em>bracha </em>[blessing], comfort and <em>chizuk</em>. To the <em>Bnei Torah </em>he would cite the <em>Mishna </em>in <em>Pirkei Avos</em>: "He who takes upon himself the yoke of Torah will be freed from the yoke of the government."<br />The Chassidim used to say that one could tell from the Rebbe's advice and blessing whether the person standing before him would be sent to the army or not. Once, two young men, one who barely made a living and the other a man of considerable means, came to ask the <em>Sfas Emes </em>if and how much they should bribe the officials in order to avoid conscription. The rich man he advised, "It's a shame to waste your money on bribes as even a hundred rubles will be of no avail. Rather invest it so that your wife will have a good business to live on (indicating that she would have to manage on her own, as indeed it turned out)." Whereas the poor man he advised to scrape together twenty-five rubles and that will suffice to save him (as it did).<br />At one point, the Russian government began to suspect that the <em>Sfas Emes </em>was preventing people from joining the army, and sent a spy to confirm their suspicions. A Jewish <em>meshumad </em>[convert to Xianity] of draft age was chosen for the job. He entered the room of the holy <em>Sfas Emes </em>disguised as a Chassid, to request a <em>bracha </em>from the Rebbe and guidance in his inevitable enlistment. To the wonder of all those present, the Rebbe shrugged, "<em>Nu</em>, the Russian army needs soldiers; without fighters we cannot win wars." The reply that evoked such astonishment among the Chassidim was only later understood, when they heard that this "Chassid" was just a spy planted by the Russian authorities.<br />In his later years, war broke out between Russia and Japan, and this time, bribery and ransom were of no avail. Whoever was of age received a draft order to appear in the town square on a certain date and from there they were dispatched directly to the battlefront. Thousands of young men and boys were torn away from the <em>beis medrash </em>[study hall] and uprooted from their homes, leaving behind terror-stricken parents, wives and children.<br />All through the war, the <em>Sfas Emes </em>zt"l never slept on his bed at all. Instead, when the hour turned late, he would lay on the floor with only a thin garment spread underneath him. After he got up in the morning, his assistants would find the garment soaked with the tears that he had cried all night for the young Jewish soldiers on the front lines.<br />In addition to the pain of being far from home, the Chassidim were broken at being cut off from their spiritual world, the hallowed walls of the <em>beis midrash </em>and the court of their holy Rebbe. Letters full of longing arrived to him, from one Chassid describing how, having no shofar on Rosh Hashana, they just sat together discussing the shofar and its awakening power! Another Chassid wrote that during Sukkos while digging trenches, they somehow found the strength and will to set up three boards within the trench, forming a <em>sukka </em>so that they could each eat a <em>kezayis </em>[minimal amount of food] inside!<br />One <em>talmid </em>who excelled in Torah learning sent a lengthy explanation with his own <em>chiddushim </em>[insights]<em> </em>on the Rabbeinu Yona! The Rebbe was so moved that he sent a letter back which later became world-famous. Quoting the <em>pasuk </em>[verse] from <em>Ha'azinu</em>: <em>Ha'idosi bachem eis hashamayim v'eis ha'aretz </em>-- using <em>ha'idosi </em>to mean decorate as in "<em>adi adoyim</em>" --- the Rebbe wrote: "With heroic people like you my dear Chassidim, Hashem adorns the heaven and earth."<br /><br />*******************<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">THE SFAS EMES AND THE SOLDIER<br /></span><em>as told by Reb Shlomo Carlebach [slightly adapted for this blog]<br /></em></strong>Here's an unbelievable story. At the beginning of the 20th Century, 1904-5, there was a war between Russia and Japan. There were so many Jewish people who were drafted. They all came to the <em>Heiliger </em>[holy] <em>Sfas Emes</em>, the deepest of the deep, and asked him for his blessing. And he blessed everyone that a miracle should happen and they should not have to go to the War.<br /><br />There was one young man, so <em>eidel </em>[refined], so gentle and so holy - really, he was not fit to be a soldier! And the <em>Sfas Emes </em>says to him, "Wait a minute." He goes into his room and comes back with a book - a little manual, how to do circumcisions [make a <em>Bris</em>]. And he says to him, "Here, learn how to make a <em>Bris</em>, and I bless you, even when you go to the army, you should come back <em>b'Shalom </em>(safely) - peacefully and with joy."<br /><br />And he begins to cry and says, "Rebbe, please bless me that I shouldn't have to go to the War." But the <em>Sfas Emes </em>was already talking to somebody else.<br /><br />He is drafted and he goes to basic training. And all those Russian and Polish peasants were so dirty. And this officer is so ashamed of them: they don't shine their shoes, they don't take care of their rifles. And then suddenly a general comes to look at the basic training - the new soldiers. And this officer tells him, "I'll tell you the truth, I'm not so proud of the other soldiers, but there's one Jew here - he is very clean and looks very beautiful."<br /><br />So he's introduced to the general, and the general says to him, "I want to talk to you privately." He takes him into his office and takes a pistol in his hand. And he says, "Is it true that you only eat <em>kosher </em>food?"<br /><br />"Yes."<br /><br />The general holds his pistol to the Jew's heart and says, "Hey, you're a soldier of the Czar of Russia, and the Czar doesn't want you to be hungry! The Czar wants you to eat all the food you can get your hands on. So I order you to eat non-<em>kosher </em>food."<br /><br />He says, "I'm sorry, I'm a servant of G-d, not of the Russian Czar."<br /><br />He walks up and down in his room, then he comes up to the Jew again and says, "I heard that you keep Shabbos, is it true?"<br /><br />He says, "Yes."<br /><br />"Are you crazy?" he says. "You're a soldier in the army of the Czar, and you keep Shabbos?! The Czar needs you to work every day!"<br /><br />And <em>mamash </em>this young man knew that this was the test of his life. He says, "I'm sorry, I'm a servant of G-d."<br /><br />And he's holding the pistol against his heart. Suddenly he smiles and puts down the pistol, and he says to him, "Listen to me. Nobody knows, but I'm Jewish. My wife just had a baby. I need a <em>Mohel </em>[ritual circumcisor]. I'm not religious, but one thing I know - the <em>Mohel </em>has to keep Shabbos and eat <em>kosher </em>food. So I just wanted to test you, if your really eat <em>kosher</em>, and if you really keep Shabbos. But now that I see that you do, I'll tell you what I'll do for you. I'll sign you out from here, and I'll say I need to take you with me. And after you do the <em>Bris</em>, I will give you civilian garments and you can just run home."<br /><br />Suddenly, the young man remembered that he doesn't even know how to make a <em>Bris</em>. <em>Gevalt, gevalt</em>, the <em>Heiliger Sfas Emes</em>! He gave him a book [about] how to do it. You know friends, those Rebbes - what eyes they had, what hearts they had! Such a privilege to know…<br /><br />***************************<br /><br />[Continuation of first article:]<br /><br />When the war intensified, a general order was given again for those who had remained behind, to fight for the mother country. Men and their wives, mothers and their sons gathered at the entrance to the Rebbe's house, pleading with him to save them. Immediately, he instructed them to go to shul, light candles and start saying <em>Tehillim</em>. The Rebbe himself joined them and their tearful prayers, rising in loud cries that must surely have pierced the heavens.<br />Following this, the Rebbe turned to all those assembled and in a now calm tone assured them that <em>b'ezras Hashem </em>all would be well. A short while later news that the war had ended spread through the country, bringing home the soldiers and saving the rest from having to leave.<br />However, the returning hordes of barbaric Russian soldiers from the front plundered and robbed their way back home leaving a trail of havoc and sorrow in their wake. The sight of the returning Jewish soldiers, crushed in body and spirit, many of them wounded or with missing limbs, and the troubles that had been <em>Klal Yisrael's </em>lot in his times, broke the <em>Sfas Emes</em>. His pure body, unable to bear the heavy burden it was carrying, fell ill with a strange malady that no one could cure, slowly paralyzing his vital organs.<br />In a desperate attempt to heal him, Polish Jewry stormed the heavens, gathering all over to say <em>Tehillim </em>and fasting. In Ger itself, prayers were said on his behalf around the clock without a break. But as dawn broke on the 5th of Shvat, the angels won the battle over this pure soldier, taking the <em>aron hakodesh </em>to the heavenly spheres.<br />The <em>Avnei Nezer</em>, who arrived the day before in Ger to visit the Rebbe, did not sleep all night, keeping a constant vigil and reciting <em>tefillos </em>[prayers] at his bedside. At the <em>levaya </em>[funeral], he revealed why the <em>Sfas Emes </em>zt"l had to be stricken with such a rare illness. "<em>Chazal </em>[our Sages] tell us one who prays for his friend while he himself is in need of that <em>yeshua </em>[salvation] is answered first. All his life, our Rebbe the <em>Sfas Emes </em>bore the burden of all our illnesses, our pains and sorrows, pouring out his heart in prayer for <em>Klal Yisrael</em>-- that sick people be healed and the healthy not fall ill. Had he become ill with a common illness, he would immediately have been answered. So, when the Creator wanted to take him away from this world, He struck him with an unknown illness for which the Rebbe had never davened for a fellow Jew and thus took him to <em>Gan Eden</em>."<br /><br /><em>Zechuso yagein Aleinu </em>- as the <em>Sfas Emes </em>protected the holy soldiers, may his merits protect us all!yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-12869082020360894882010-01-18T20:37:00.004+02:002010-01-18T20:47:04.920+02:00The Tzaddik in Gehinnom<div>Tonight and tomorrow, the 4th of Shvat, is the <em>yahrzeit </em>of <a href="http://www.darchenoam.org/discussion/chesed3.htm">Rebbe Moshe Leib of Sassov</a>, a <em>talmid </em>of the <a href="http://www.nehora.com/Tzadikim/tz_viewer.cfm?id=207&amp;page=nikolsburg.htm&amp;t=Rabbi%20Shmuel%20Shmelke%20Halevi%20of%20Nikolsburg">Rebbe Reb Shmelke of Nikolsburg</a>. Born in the year 5505 [1745] in Brody, he was the author of several <em>chiddushim </em>on the <em>Talmud </em>[<em>Chiddushei RaMaL</em>], <a href="http://www.belzerseforim.com/pdf/likuteramala.pdf"><em>Likkutei RaMaL</em></a>, and <a href="http://www.belzerseforim.com/pdf/toratharamal.pdf"><em>Toras RaMaL HaShalem</em></a>. He subsequently became a Rebbe in his own right with many followers, and was famous primarily for his love of his fellow Jews and his creative musical talent. <em>Previous posts:<br /></em><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-r-moshe-leib-sassover-became.html">How R. Moshe Leib Sassover Became a Chassid</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2007/01/rebbe-moshe-leibs-intense-love-of.html">Intense Love of the Jewish People</a> </div><br /><div><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/02/niggun-to-live-and-die-for.html">A Niggun to Live and Die For</a><br /><br /><em>The following story was also told by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, albeit in a slightly different form. This version is from the </em><a href="http://www.lchaimweekly.org/lchaim/5757/481.htm"><em>L'Chaim website</em></a><em>, which in turn took it from </em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crown-Creation-Biblical-Rabbinic-Mystical/dp/0889626111"><em>The Crown of Creation</em></a><em>, by Chana Weisberg, published by </em><a href="http://www.mosaic-press.com/"><em>Mosaic Press</em></a><em>.<br /></em></div><br /><div><br /><a name="caption9"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">THE TZADDIK IN GEHINNOM</span></strong></a><br />At his grandson's circumcision celebration, the great Chassidic master, Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740-1810), recounted the following episode:<br /></div><br /><div>"This morning I arose very early to prepare myself to perform the <em>bris mila </em>of my dear grandchild. At daybreak I opened the window and saw a penetrating darkness in the heavens. As I wondered about the blackness before my eyes, it was made known to me that this very day a prince of Israel, the holy <em>Tzaddik</em>, Rebbe Moshe Yehuda Leib Sassov, had passed away.<br /></div><br /><div>"As I mourned for that master of Israel, I heard a voice cry out: 'Make way for Rebbe Moshe Yehuda Leib!'<br /></div><br /><div>"When Rebbe Moshe entered the celestial realms, the <em>Tzaddikim </em>and Chassidim formed a joyous circle around him. Suddenly, he heard a voice reaching from one end of the world to the other. Intrigued, he began following it until he found himself at the gates of <em>Gehinnom </em>(Purgatory).<br /></div><br /><div>"Without waiting for permission, Rebbe Moshe entered <em>Gehinnom</em>. The guards saw him walking back and forth as if looking for somebody. They were certain that he had come there by mistake and they politely asked him to ascend to his proper place in <em>Gan Eden </em>(the Garden of Eden).</div><br /><div><br />"Rebbe Moshe said nothing. The guards repeated their request, but he remained silent and did not move. They didn't know whether to drive him out or permit him to remain. They decided to confer with the Heavenly Court, but even it was puzzled. Never had a <em>Tzaddik </em>descended into <em>Gehinnom </em>of his own desire. Rebbe Moshe was summoned before the Throne of Glory where he made his request known.</div><br /><div><br />"Rebbe Moshe began, 'Master of the World, You know how great is the <em>mitzva </em>of redeeming captives. I have occupied myself with this <em>mitzva </em>my entire life, and I have never differentiated between wicked captives and righteous captives. All were equally beloved by me, and I had no peace until I had succeeded in freeing them. Now that I have entered the World of Truth, I find that there are many captives here, too. I wish to fulfill this <em>mitzva </em>here, as well.</div><br /><div><br />"'I will not leave <em>Gehinnom </em>until I have fulfilled this <em>mitzva</em>. So dear are Your commandments to me that I have observed them no matter what the place or time or penalty might be. If I cannot bring these wretched souls to freedom, I would rather remain with them in the fires of <em>Gehinnom </em>than to sit with the righteous and bask in the light of the Divine Presence!'<br /></div><br /><div>"Rebbe Moshe's words flew before the Throne of Glory, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, uttered the decision: </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>'Great are the <em>Tzaddikim </em>who are ready to relinquish their share in <em>Gan Eden </em>for the sake of others. Because this <em>mitzva </em>is so noble, let it be calculated how many people Rebbe Moshe Yehuda Leib redeemed during his lifetime, both they and their children, and their children's children until the end of time. That number he may redeem here, also.'</div><br /><div><br />"The Book of Records was immediately brought, opened and read. The names of all those who had been redeemed by Rebbe Moshe were counted and their children and their children's children. The final figure arrived at was sixty-thousand souls from <em>Gehinnom </em>to <em>Gan Eden</em>.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428152910402101714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 265px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/S1SsT_sFIdI/AAAAAAAAAog/5svKvFk5HhA/s400/zzzSouls+in+dark.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />"Rebbe Moshe began to walk through <em>Gehinnom</em>, looking into countless pits and caves where he found souls who had suffered for hundreds of years and who had long ago lost all hope of redemption. One by one he gathered them and when he was finished, he found their number to be exactly sixty-thousand. Column after column emerged from <em>Gehinnom</em>, marching with them at their head, until they arrived at <em>Gan Eden</em>.<br /></div><br /><div>"When all sixty thousand souls had entered, the gates were closed."<br /></div><br /><div>After recounting this story, Rebbe Levi Yitzchak named his little grandson Moshe Yehuda Leib and blessed him to grow up to emulate the holy <em>Tzaddik</em>, Rebbe Moshe Yehuda Leib of Sassov.<br /><br /><em>Zechuso yagein Aleinu, v’al Kol Yisrael </em>– May Rebbe Moshe Leib’s merits protect us all!</div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-35819842207208946882009-11-20T11:01:00.004+02:002009-11-20T11:08:22.912+02:00TISH FOR TOTS!The Modzitzer Rebbe Shlita is currently visiting America. In his visit to Lakewood, he came to the Yeshiva Toras Emes, where he made a "<em>Tish</em>" for the young <em>cheder </em>students. What a joy to see young boys singing somewhat complex Modzitzer <em>niggunim</em>, together with their rebbes [teachers]! In the 8-1/2 minute video which follows, you can see the boys singing a Modzitz tune as they greet the Rebbe, the Rebbe saying an age-appropriate <em>Dvar Torah </em>in <em>Yiddish</em>, followed by the Modzitz choirleader's rendition of one of the Rebbe's <em>niggunim</em>, <em>Libi U'besari</em>. Then there are some more <em>niggunim</em>, including a finale as the Rebbe distributes cake to the boys. Enjoy!<br />Oh, and thanks to the <a href="http://www.thelakewoodscoop.com/news/2009/11/rebbe-of-modzitz-visits-yeshivah-toras-emes.html">Lakewood Scoop</a> for this wonderful video!<br /><br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/flKlaVb9lw0&amp;hl=" fs="1&amp;rel=" color1="0x402061&amp;color2=" border="1" width="660" height="525" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-64618662954947773282009-11-19T20:38:00.003+02:002009-11-19T20:45:22.817+02:00Traveling with the Rosh Yeshiva<div>Today was 2 Kislev and the 47th <em>yahrzeit </em>of <strong><u>the</u></strong> <em>Rosh Yeshiva</em>, Rabbi Aharon Kotler ztvk"l. Read more about him at our <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/11/special-shalach-manos-for-rosh-yeshiva.html">earlier post, here</a>. In honor of his <em>yahrzeit</em>, we present the following two "travelling" stories [from <a href="http://revach.net/">Revach</a>], plus a <em>Dvar Torah </em>from him on the <em>Parsha</em>.<br /> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405886407795453282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 262px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SwWRC9jCrWI/AAAAAAAAAoY/IoYLj7b1lLo/s400/Rav+Moshe,+Rav+Aharon,+Rav+Yaakov.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center">Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Aharon Kotler, &amp; Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky</div><div><br /><strong>Rav Moshe Feinstein <em>Paskens </em>- Honor Rav Aharon Kotler<br /></strong>Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l, the <em>Rosh Yeshiva </em>of Lakewood, was preparing to travel to Eretz Yisrael for a visit. Meanwhile, Rav Aharon’s <em>talmidim </em>made their own preparations to accompany him to the airport. When Rav Aharon found out about their plans, he made known to them that he preferred that they remain in the yeshiva and adhere to their normal learning schedule.<br />Rav Aharon’s <em>talmidim </em>were in a quandary about what to do. They brought the question to Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l. Rav Moshe’s answer left no room for doubt. "Accompany the <em>Rosh Yeshiva</em>. Honoring Rav Aharon is like honoring the Torah itself!" (Rav Moshe Feinstein)<br /></div><div>***<br /><br /><strong>Rav Aharon Kotler Pays... With <em>Bitachon </em><br /></strong>On his way back to Lakewood from a <em>talmid's </em>wedding in New York City, Rav Aharon Kotler arrived at the train station and realized he did not have any money to purchase a ticket. Without any viable alternative at that hour, he decided to stand on line at the ticket-purchasing counter, relying solely on Hashem for help.The line grew shorter and shorter, as his turn was quickly approaching without any help in sight. Rav Aharon was not concerned, and just continued to learn, while waiting patiently without any worries. </div><div>The person in front of him purchased his ticket and now it was his turn. He still didn't despair and calmly started walking towards the counter as if he had no problem, completely confident in Hashem's salvation.As he approached the counter, a <em>talmid </em>came rushing towards him. He was so happy to see him, he began screaming "Rebbi Rebbi!" Rav Aharon asked his <em>talmid </em>if he could loan him the amount he needed for the ticket, which he did. He took the money paid for the ticket and went home all without batting an eye.<br /><br />***<br /><br /><strong>ON THE PARSHA<br /></strong><a href="http://www.torah.org/learning/hamaayan/5761/toldos.html">from HaMaayan, Torah.org</a><br />"And Esav came from the field, and he was exhausted." (25:29) "Esav spurned the birthright." (25:34)<br />Rashi says that he was tired because he had just committed a murder. The <em>Midrash </em>states further that Esav had committed other serious sins on that day, including adultery and idolatry.<br />If Esav committed such serious sins all in one day, asks Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l (the Lakewood <em>Rosh Yeshiva</em>), why does the Torah single out only the fact that he spurned the birthright? He explains:<br />The birthright did not give its bearer only material rights, but also (and primarily) spiritual responsibilities. What <em>Kohanim </em>and <em>Levi'im </em>were, later in history -- "For the lips of the <em>Kohen </em>should safeguard knowledge, and people should seek Torah from his mouth" (<em>Malachi </em>2:7) -- the firstborn were in Yaakov's and Esav's time. It was these responsibilities that Esav rejected when he spurned the birthright, and he thus demonstrated his attitude towards spiritual matters.<br />By telling us that Esav spurned the birthright, says Rav Kotler, the Torah is informing us of the root cause of all of his other sins. The details of Esav's sins do not matter; what is important is that Esav had an improper attitude. (<em>Mishnas Rav Aharon </em>Vol. III, p. 191).</div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-49406260699458967012009-11-03T11:59:00.003+02:002009-11-03T12:08:50.511+02:00"Every song, every letter, every note, is a living monument to the great soul"<div><em>Today is 16 Ram-Cheshvan, and the 15th Yahrzeit of Reb Shlomo Carlebach zt"l. In honor of this great event, I would like to share with you the eulogy given at Reb Shlomo's funeral by the then-Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Yisrael Meir Lau Shilita.<br />I received it from <a href="http://rebshlomo.org/chevra/in-memoriam-chevra/eulogy-in-honor-of-reb-shlomo-carlebach/">the Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach Foundation</a>, </em><em>who noted that the eulogy was translated from Hebrew to English by Rachel Ebner, transcribed for digital use by Reuven Goldfarb, and edited for publication by Rabbi-Chaver David Wolfe-Blank (zt"l). I have done some light editing on it for this blog.<br /></em><br />***<br /></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399816790846065250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 269px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SvAAwwaRymI/AAAAAAAAAoA/ZpdO2yvfEa8/s400/Rav+Lau+%40+Yad+Vashem.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>I believe that I will not have fulfilled my duty if I do not here serve as spokesman for many who need to beg forgiveness and pardon from HaRav Shlomo Carlebach. We did not relate to him with enough respect, we did not value him sufficiently, we did not stand strong enough to guard the honor which he never sought but was truly entitled to.<br />I ask forgiveness and pardon in the name of those who are present here and in the name of the many who should have been present here but did not come. They will come, however, and they will come to value this great soul who moved among us: a soul from the world of nobility and purity, the world of awe, of melody, and of intimacy with the Divine.<br />Perhaps the name Carlebach is not familiar to the young among you, but those of us who are older know Reb Shlomo's roots: he came from one of the most aristocratic families in the world of Torah, the world of Judaism before the <em>Akeida</em>, before the destruction.<br />Reb Shlomo belonged to all worlds, even though sometimes it appeared he belonged to none -- sometimes he was so isolated and so lonely. More than once, when we'd meet on an airplane, it seemed that he had no ally but his guitar. But he belonged to all worlds. He was a true ben-Torah in the world of the Lakewood <em>Yeshiva</em>, alongside HaRav Aharon Kotler zt"l, who today stands ready to greet him. Reb Shlomo was a household member in the home of the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l, who today stands ready to greet him. And Reb Shlomo was a Breslover, and, no doubt, Rebbe Nachman rejoices today with this great soul arriving in the secret, lofty places.<br />Reb Shlomo was a member of a very illustrious family, a family of deep believers. His uncle, R. Yosef Zvi Carlebach zt"l, wrote one of the last postcards of his life perhaps the very last to my father. Both of them, friends in heart and soul, rose heavenward in the storm in Europe fifty years ago. R. Yosef Zvi Carlebach wrote to my father: "As for me, I am amidst my congregation." He had been advised to embark for the safety of America, and he answered my father - we have the postcard – "I am amidst my congregation; I shall not leave my congregation." Such was his devotion for the community of Israel.<br />I see Shloimele in Russia, before any of us had the chance to get there, where souls were being lost at the murderous pace of a thousand a day. And this young man showed up with his guitar. They'd not seen anyone looking like this in a long time - a beard, <em>payot </em>and <em>tzitzit</em>. And from these encounters was born that song that the whole Jewish world knows: <em>Od Avinu Chai </em>(Our Father still lives). Shlomo came to them as if to tell them: "The People of Israel lives!" Why? In what <em>zechut </em>[merit]? Because our Father lives. They didn't understand his words, but they understood his soul. They absorbed him without understanding his texts no dictionary is needed for the language of feelings. They understood and absorbed Reb Shlomo's language more than they did our rabbinic speeches. Reb Shlomo had a language called the language of the heart.<br />You just sang <em>Mizmor L'David</em>, a Psalm of David. More than twenty years ago, I had the honor of hosting Reb Shlomo until four in the morning in my house on Vermiza Street in Tel Aviv. And he said to me, "Rav Yisrael, you are a child of the Holocaust. I want to sing you a melody." And there, on the spot, he composed a melody which had never been published anywhere, to the words of one Torah verse. And that verse was and it is with it we accompany him today: "Even when I am walking in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me." This "You are with me" is what sustained Reb Shlomo all over the world: on the campuses of Berkeley; all the campuses of the east and the west; the campuses of England, France, Austria, Germany, South Africa, and Australia; in places so far-flung that the name of Israel was barely remembered there. Reb Shlomo stood up and returned so many people to the embrace of Judaism and helped so many turn back from distorted lives.<br />I remember the first time Reb Shlomo appeared at Zion-America House, which at the time still had no ceiling and was wide open on top. He began with the song <em>Esa Einai </em>(I lift my eyes to the mountains), and we answered him with <em>Shomer Yisrael </em>(Guardian of Israel, guard the remnant of Israel), and… he sang for us <em>Yisrael, B'tach BaShem, Ezram uMaginam Hu </em>(Nation of Israel, trust in the L-rd; He is [Israel's] Help and Shield). And then he promised us the promise of <em>Od Yishama...Kol Sasson veKol Simcha </em>(There will yet be heard...the voices of joy and gladness), then <em>V'hanchilaynu Hashem Elokeynu b'eahava uveratzon Shabbat Kodshecha </em>(In love and grace, He has given us His holy Sabbath). He made us all take a leap into the holiness of the Sabbath, and today we accompany him into the day that is all Shabbat and peace, to the life of eternity.<br />Reb Shlomo was a great soul, a quintessential soul. Only once in a generation does such a soul turn up who knows from whence it was drawn? From the roots of higher worlds.<br />I want to tell you something. There are four species: the <em>Etrog</em>, the <em>Lulav</em>, the <em>Hadas </em>(myrtle), and the <em>Arava </em>(willow). Their initials spell out <em>Aaleh </em>(I shall go up). Reb Shlomo, this is the day of your ascent. The <em>Hadas </em>is called a branch of interwoven foliage. What is special about the <em>Hadas</em>? Three leaves in a row emerge from the stalk at the same spot. The three leaves are three hearts. These are the three loves about which we have been commanded. First of all: <em>V'ahavta et Hashem Elokecha </em>(You shall love the L-rd your G-d); this is one leaf of the <em>Hadas</em>. Secondly, <em>V'ahavta l'Reacha kamocha </em>(Love your neighbor as yourself); this is the second leaf. And the third is <em>uverachta et Hashem Elokecha al ha'Aretz hatova asher natan lach </em>(Bless the L-rd your G-d in the good Land which He has given you) - the love of the Land of Israel. Now it is not the case with all of us that the three leaves line up. For one person, love of Torah might be stronger than his love of the Jewish people. Another person's love of the Jewish people might be stronger than his love of G-d. And there are those whose love of the Land might be stronger than both other loves. The Rambam calls a <em>Hadas </em>of this type one whose leaves are not equal a <em>Hadas shoteh </em>(a foolish <em>Hadas</em>).<br />Reb Shlomo, you were a wise <em>Hadas</em>, whose sweet fragrance was widely diffused. You were a <em>Hadas </em>who possessed all three leaves, and all of them suckled from the same inner point that is in all of Israel, who is hewn from the Rock. You had powerful love for the Holy One, Blessed be He, boundless love of Torah, and an unparalleled love for Israel. Reb Shlomo's love of Israel, and love for every grain of dust of the Land of Israel. How to put it? He was connected to every letter of Torah, to every soul in the nation, and to every clump of dust in the Land.<br />Today, as with a good name you go to the higher world, surrounded by the love of your friends, your students, and people who esteem you, the clumps of dust of the Holy Land that you so love will sing sweetly for you.<br />And your prayers at the Western Wall, your Friday nights at the Western Wall it is into your own Sabbath eves of <em>Rav lach Shevet </em>(Enough dwelling in the vale of tears, come arise from the ruins), into your own <em>Mikdash Melech </em>(Temple of the King) that you are entering today in the higher worlds. I can see in my mind's eye the <em>Tzaddikim </em>and higher Holy Ones who are right now greeting your soul. You brought the spirit of Jewish life into so many Jewish souls who were on the threshold of danger, of getting lost, of disappearing.<br />May your pure, refined soul be bound up in the bouquet of life. Alas, alas for those who are gone, no longer here.<br />You had a soul the likes of which is only seen once in many generations, and it had the power to sustain numerous souls in Israel. May you be granted in the higher world enjoyment from your daughters, whom you always praised so highly; may you attain faithful houses to carry on your name in Israel with honor and splendor. Your songs are living monuments, unlike a stationary tombstone. Your music is a living, ongoing monument. The entire Jewish world in this generation and for generations to come are building up for you a memorial of sons and daughters I shall give him an eternal name which cannot be cut off. Every song, every letter, every note, is a living monument to the great soul whom we were privileged to know, the soul of HaRav Shlomo Carlebach, may the beloved <em>Tzaddik </em>be remembered for blessing, for eternity. </div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-75964638858875977152009-10-25T22:47:00.002+02:002009-10-25T22:52:18.180+02:00Rav Meir Shapiro's Magnificent Niggun!Today, the 7th of Cheshvan, was the 76th <em>yahrzeit </em>of Rav Meir Shapiro, who was the initiator of the <em>Daf HaYomi </em>program, the daily folio [page] of <em>Talmud </em>learning, as well as the Founder and <em>Rosh Yeshiva </em>of <em>Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin </em>in Poland. We previously posted about him <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2005/11/niggunim-from-daf-hayomi-rabbi-meir.html">here</a>.<br /><br />In addition, <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2008/09/niggun-of-his-life.html">in this post</a>, we discussed the tribute to the great Jewish <em>klezmer </em>[clarinetist], Moshe [Musa] Berlin. In the video below, we have Musa, together with his disciple, Chilik Frank, and some other great musicians, playing Rav Meir Shapiro’s beautiful <em>Lecha Dodi niggun</em>. I’ve heard this sung on <em>Leil Shabbos </em>[Friday night] by R. Moshe Bienenstock of Breslov, and it’s magnificent!<br /><br /><br /><object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cPv4DRUUabE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cPv4DRUUabE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-14656108165553165642009-09-10T11:12:00.000+03:002009-09-10T21:08:04.779+03:00A LOOK OF TESHUVA<div align="left">Tonight and Friday is 22 Elul, and the 106th <em>yahrzeit </em>of the first Hornosteipel Rebbe, Rebbe Mordechai Dov Ber Twerski, also known as the <em>Peleh Yoeitz</em>. A direct descendant of the Rebbe Reb Zusia of Anipoli, he was also the grandson and successor of the <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2005/09/rebbe-yaakov-yisrael-of-cherkassy-and.html">Cherkassy Rebbe</a>, a son-in-law of <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/04/saved-by-niggun-and-mechutan-divrei.html">Rebbe Chaim of Sanz</a>, and a tremendous <em>Talmid Chacham </em>[Torah scholar] and Chassidic Rebbe in his own right.<br /><br />Previous posts: <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2007/09/bracha-fora-thief.html">A <em>Bracha </em>for a Thief</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/09/pele-yoeitz-saved-at-mikva.html">Saved at the <em>Mikva</em></a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2005/09/simple-voice-from-hornesteipel.html">A Simple Voice from Hornosteipel</a><br /><br />Once again we have chosen a story from Rabbi A.J. Twerski’s wonderful book on the Hornosteipler, <a href="http://www.artscroll.com/Books/zrmh.html"><em>The Zeide Reb Motele</em></a>. This one really fits the season we’re in as well…<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">A LOOK OF TESHUVA<br /></span></strong>My father’s brother, Uncle Nachum, told me that <em>Zeide </em>R. Motele’s followers from Ignatovke once complained to him about their bitter lot. The <em>poritz </em>of their fiefdom appointed a Jew who had converted to Christianity as the local governor, and who relentlessly persecuted the local Jews even more than the non-Jewish anti-Semites.<br />One day, <em>Zeide </em>R. Motele came to Ignatovke and was greeted by a throng of Chassidim. As the procession made its way through the town, <em>Zeide </em>R. Motele instructed the driver to stop in front of a house, which was the residence of the governor.<br />Hearing the commotion outside, the governor went out to see what was happening. To the astonishment of the Chassidim, <em>Zeide </em>R. Motele went into the house of the governor. The Chassidim were even further surprised that the governor followed him, and a few of them made their way inside.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379767565751021410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SqjGGQrB72I/AAAAAAAAAng/wKDNVsGvL3c/s400/staring+match.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">a staring match</p><br /><em>Zeide </em>R. Motele seated himself at a table opposite the governor. The Chassidim were certain that he was going to plead on their behalf, but he did not utter a single word. <em>Zeide </em>R. Motele just stared at the governor for a while, then rose and left the house. The bewildered Chassidim did not know what to make of this.<br />At <em>Shalosh Seudos </em>(the third Shabbos meal) on Shabbos, although the room was dark, someone noticed that the governor had come in. After <em>Havdala </em>(ritual at the closing of Shabbos), <em>Zeide </em>R. Motele had a private session with the governor for three hours. The following day the governor, who had announced that his name was Avraham, threw away all his kitchen utensils and made his kitchen <em>kosher</em>.<br />In short, Avraham became a complete <em>baal teshuva </em>and did his utmost to compensate for the suffering he had inflicted upon the community. But within the year, Avraham the <em>baal teshuva </em>died, and the community mourned the loss of one who had become their benefactor.<br />One day, <em>Zeide </em>R. Motele was sitting with his Chassidim and said, "Nu, what do you say about Avraham? He was a true <em>baal teshuva</em>, wasn't he?" All the Chassidim concurred.<br />There was one Chassid, however, who had suffered severely from the governor’s persecution, who said, "What! That <em>rasha </em>(wicked person) who had caused us so much grief?"<br /><em>Zeide </em>R. Motele turned pale. He sank into deep meditation and then said, "Unanimous opinions are suspect. It is good that there was one dissent. Now Avraham's soul can rest in peace."<br /><br /><em>Zechuso yagein Aleinu v'al kol Yisrael - </em>May the Hornosteipel <em>Zeide's </em>merits protect us all!yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-41673503486950784842009-09-01T22:02:00.005+03:002009-09-01T22:19:49.561+03:00Of Shepherds, Doctors, Souls and Heaven<div>Today is the 12th of Elul, the 182nd <em>yahrzeit </em>of <a href="http://nehora.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&amp;page_id=37&amp;id=72&amp;page=simcha.htm&amp;t=Rabbi%20Simcha%20Bunam%20of%20Pshis%27cha">Rebbe Simcha Bunim of Pshischa</a>, author of <a href="http://store.chassidus.com/item_detail.php?item_id=24341"><em>Kol Simcha</em></a>, (1767-1827). Rebbe Simcha Bunim studied in the <em>yeshivos </em>of Mattersdorf and Nikolsburg under the guidance of Rav Mordechai Banet.<br /><br />Previous posts: <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2007/08/tidbits-from-rebbe-reb-simcha-bunim-of.html">Tidbits from the Rebbe Reb Simcha Bunim of Pshishca</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/09/serving-hashem-with-simcha-joyand-song.html">Serving Hashem with Simcha [Joy]…and Song</a><br /><br />In honor of the <em>yahrzeit</em>, we present some <u>more</u> tidbits about Reb Bunim, as well as some sayings from him. The first two are my free translations from the sefer, "<em>Chamishim Tzaddikim b’soch Ha'ir </em>[<em>50 Righteous Ones in the City</em>], by R. Aharon HaLevi Pichnik; followed by two I found on the Web and in my e-mailbox; and finally, a wonderful story I received many moons ago from <a href="http://www.geocities.com/yehoshuarubin/lookinginside">R. Yehoshua Rubin</a>. </div><div><br /><br /></div><div><em><strong>Please read on…<br /></strong></em><br />***<br /><br /><strong>* HOW HE BECAME REBBE<br /></strong>After the passing of the <em>Yid HaKodesh </em>[the Holy Jew, Rebbe Yaakov Yitzchak] of Pshischa, his closest <em>talmidim </em>gathered together to find a successor. Most of them were considered R. Avraham Abbeleh of Neishtat, who was one of the main <em>talmidim </em>and very close to the <em>Yid</em>. Each of the <em>talmidim </em>expressed themselves about the future of their 'movement' and who would be the appropriate leader. </div><div> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376578862000726418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 286px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/Sp1x_RhtYZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/WXAMy3exEk0/s400/zzzShepherd+%26+flock.jpg" border="0" /><br />When R. Simcha Bunim's turn came, he gave the following <em>mashal </em>[parable]: "A shepherd tended his flock faithfully and diligently. If even one sheep was lost, he would not rest until he found it and returned it to the flock. One time the shepherd was very tired and dozed off. Upon awakening, it was already dark, in the middle of the night. Filled with fright, he screamed out, 'Where is my flock?' He ran all about, and soon he realized that his flock was not far away, all standing together, awaiting the shepherd… He counted them and found them all present. He stood up and said, '<em>Ribono shel Olam </em>[Master of the World]! How can I ever thank You for this great kindness? One thing I can promise You, that if Your flock is given over to me, I will guard them like the apple of my eye!' Such a shepherd is what we need!" ended Rebbe Bunim.<br /><br />R. Avraham Abbeleh of Neishtat then arose and said, "We need no one else! You are our master and leader!" And they all agreed to make Rebbe Simcha Bunim their Rebbe.<br /><br />***<br /><br /><strong>*WHY DO THEY COME?<br /></strong>Just as it was by the <em>Yid HaKodesh </em>in Pshischa, and later by the Kotzker Rebbe, so it was by Rebbe Simcha Bunim: young men, married and unmarried, left their homes and families, to attach themselves to the Rebbe. Parents, wives and relatives of these men would bring their strong grievances to him: "You are corrupting our children [husbands]! Why do they need to spend so many years with you? What do they need you for?"<br /><br />Rebbe Bunim accepted their complaints graciously and explained: "Surely you know that I was a pharmacist, and I can discern between different types of doctors. There is a doctor who comes on his own, as soon as you call him, and takes a small fee - but no one trusts him. But the doctor who is hard to get, and charges a high fee - it is <u>he</u> who is in demand, and people trust. I did not approach your children/husbands, they come of their own accord, and pay a high fee: the distress of their parents and families. It must be that they truly believe that have found here their <em>tikkun </em>[rectification]…"<br /><br />***<br /><br /><strong>*TWO NOTES, TWO PASSAGES<br /></strong>One of the leading Rebbes of the 19th century, Rebbe Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, once addressed his disciples with a surprising yet important request: "Write two truths on two separate notes," he ordered them. "Let one state the teaching of our Sages, 'For my sake the world was created.' The other should spell the verse uttered by our forefather Avraham: 'I am dust and ashes.' Now place these two notes into your pockets. When you are feeling useless, take out the note that states that 'the world was created for you.' But if your achievements engender self-arrogance, take out the second note and remember that you are but 'dust and ashes.' "<br />***<br />Rebbe Simcha Bunam of Pshis'cha would say, "People should prepare two passages for themselves: One to exit this world, and the other to enter the next."<br /><br />***<br /><br /><strong>*TO RAISE HEAVEN OR FIX ONE’S SOUL<br /><em>by </em></strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Yehoshua-Rubin/588098314"><strong><em>Yehoshua Rubin</em></strong></a><strong><em><br /></em></strong>With a glass of tea in his hand, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Kotzk joined his friend Rebbe Yaakov from Radizmin on his wooden porch. Sitting in their rocking chairs and staring out at the forest put them both into a philosophical frame of mind.<br />Rebbe Menachem Mendel slowly sipped from his tea and asked Rebbe Yaakov, "Why was man created?"<br />Rebbe Yaakov rocked a little, thought, and answered, "To fix one’s soul."<br />"True," Rebbe Menachem Mendel said receiving his answer. "But didn’t our teacher, Rebbe Simcha Bunim of Pshischa give a different answer?"<br />"Yes, you are right…Now I remember, he said man was created to raise up Heaven. But Menachem Mendel, aren't both answers one and the same? Doesn’t one raise up Heaven every time he fixes his soul?"<br />"True," replied Rebbe Menachem Mendel. "However there is a difference, and the difference is in the hand." And Rebbe Menachem Mendel added no more.<br />They sat in silence, rocking and enjoying the forest view.<br />"The hand," thought Rebbe Yaakov to himself. "What did the Rebbe mean?"<br />Finally Rebbe Yaakov said, "I don’t understand."<br />Rebbe Menachem Mendel turned to him and said, "You see, when someone fixes his soul, he learns to accept all that G-d has given him, so he feels comfortable holding his own hand. Yet one who strives to raise Heaven will find himself learning how to feel comfortable holding the hands of other people."<br /><br /><em>Zechuso yagein Aleinu </em>- May the Rebbe Reb Bunim's merits protect us!yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-50333829390637375422009-08-24T15:12:00.004+03:002009-08-24T15:46:31.884+03:00"Out of Town" Blogging<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SpKLVbC7x5I/AAAAAAAAAnA/rBOW0IM2gl4/s1600-h/zzz-outa+town.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373510505560000402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 377px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SpKLVbC7x5I/AAAAAAAAAnA/rBOW0IM2gl4/s400/zzz-outa+town.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div>You can find me today at our good friend, <a href="http://asimplejew.blogspot.com/">A Simple Jew</a>'s site, about</div><div><a href="http://asimplejew.blogspot.com/2009/08/question-answer-with-yitz-of-heichal.html">LEARNING YIDDISH</a></div><br /><div></div><div>Also, at <a href="http://theantitzemach.blogspot.com/">Hershel Tzig's Circus Tent</a>, there's an interesting musical piece, </div><div><a href="http://theantitzemach.blogspot.com/2009/08/music-real-music-you-can-listen-to.html">REAL MUSIC YOU CAN LISTEN TO</a>, where amongst the 75 or so comments you can find a few of mine. Caution: it sometimes gets a bit "hectic" there, and some of the comments are written in...Yiddish!</div></div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-87539663862549667432009-08-23T16:37:00.001+03:002009-08-23T16:44:48.062+03:00RAV KOOK ZT"L - HANESHAMA LACH<p>Today is the 3rd of Elul, and Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook's 74th yahrzeit.</p><p>Previous posts:<br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2007/09/heartrending-blasts.html">Heartrending Blasts</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/08/musical-inspiration-from-rav-kook-ztl.html">MUSICAL INSPIRATION from RAV KOOK ZT"L</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2005/09/mizmor-shir-lrav-kook-ztl-today-3rd-of.html">MIZMOR SHIR L'RAV KOOK ZT"L</a></p><p>Enjoy the video below, a special combination of pictures and videos of Rav Kook, and a Carlebach niggun for Elul.</p><p> </p><p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vkYPBUphWP0&amp;hl=" fs="1&amp;rel=" color1="0x402061&amp;color2=" border="1" width="660" height="525" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></p>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-60609585249321325772009-08-16T11:02:00.001+03:002009-08-16T11:04:40.533+03:00RECENT LINKSThere have been some great posts about <em>Negina </em>in the <em>JBlogosphere </em>which I'd like to share with you:<br /><br /><a href="http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2009/08/the_power_of_a_.html">Lazer [Brody] Beams: The Power of a <em>Niggun</em></a><br /><br /><a title="Permanent Link to Rav Brazil: How to Know if a Song is Rooted in Kedushah" href="http://matzav.com/rav-brazil-how-to-know-if-a-song-is-rooted-in-kedushah/">How to Know if a Song is Rooted in <em>Kedusha</em></a><br />Hat Tip: <a href="http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com/2009/08/music-and-kedusha.html">Shirat Devorah</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/breslev/rebbe_nachmans_wisdom/rebbe_nachman_on_music.aspx?id=12645&amp;language=english">Rebbe Nachman on Music</a><br /><br />"When an offering was brought in the Temple, the Levi'im would stand on their designated platform and sing. For extraction of <em>ruach ha'adam </em>[spirit of man] is the main purpose of the offerings, separating the good <em>ruach </em>from the animal <em>ruach</em>. And this is achieved through singing and <em>niggun </em>/ melody…"<br />from <a href="http://likuteihalachos.blogspot.com/2009/08/parshas-reeih.html">Likutei Halachos: The Joy of Eating</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418539128&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull">Jerusalem Post: Filling his World</a> -- All about Shlomo Katz and his new album.yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-45808865907775311952009-07-28T01:02:00.003+03:002009-07-28T01:13:45.663+03:00REBUILDING FROM THE ASHES<div align="left">Tonight and tomorrow, 7 Menachem Av, is the 9th <em>yahrzeit </em>of Rebbe Shalom Noach Berzovsky zt"l, the previous Slonimer Rebbe and author of <em>Nesivos Shalom</em>.<br /><br />PREVIOUSLY: <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/07/simcha-ma-zeh-oseh-what-does-joy-do.html"><em>Simcha Ma Zeh Oseh </em>– What Does Joy Do?</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2007/07/nesivos-shalom-why-are-we-mourning.html">The <em>Nesivos Shalom </em>– Why Are We Mourning?</a><br /><br />The following was culled from a number of sources: <a href="http://www.torah.org/learning/hamaayan/5760/kiseitzei.html"><em>HaMaayan</em></a>, <a href="http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5760/eikev/aslonim.htm"><em>Dei’ah VeDibur</em></a>, and a Hebrew <em>parsha </em>sheet called "<em>Kol HaMishna</em>." I believe the focus here is very appropriate for these days preceding Tisha B’Av…<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363264580109264482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 271px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/Sm4kuEXY5mI/AAAAAAAAAlw/pH8hEPTA--E/s400/Nesivos+Shalom+on+Lag+B%27Omer+Meron.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">The "Nesivos" lighting the fire at Meron...</span></p><br />The Slonimer Rebbe, HaRav Shalom Noach Berzovksy zt"l, was born in the Polish town of Baranovitch. His father, HaRav Moshe Avraham, was the Rav of the community. As a youth, he grew up in the sacred courtyard of Slonim and was especially close to the Slonimer Rebbe, the <em>Beis Avraham</em>, who held him in high esteem, predicting that R. Shalom Noach was destined for greatness.<br /><br />Shortly before his passing in 1933, the <em>Beis Avraham </em>recommended to his cousin, R. Avraham Weinberg of Tiveria (Tiberias) that he take R. Shalom Noach as a son-in-law. (The last pre-war Slonimer Rebbe, R. Shlomo David Yehoshua Weinberg, was killed in 1944, and for ten years, no successor was named. In 1954, R. Shalom Noach's father-in-law agreed to assume the mantle of the Rebbe. His teachings are collected -- by R. Shalom Noach -- in the work <em>Birchas Avraham</em>, and he is known by that name.)<br /><br />In 5696 (1936) he moved to Eretz Yisrael following the advice of his mentor, the Slonimer Rebbe. During the first years after his marriage he lived near his illustrious father-in-law in Tiveria, and imbibed Chassidic thought from him. It was a blend of peerless <em>avodas Hashem </em>and <em>amal baTorah </em>[striving in Torah learning]. Together, he and his father-in-law studied in the <em>Ohr Torah Yeshiva </em>located near the grave of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess.<br /><br />In 5702 (1941), reports of the wicked Nazi fiend wielding his sword over European Jewry reached Eretz Yisrael, HaRav Shalom Noach discovered that he had lost his entire family in the Holocaust. Barely a vestige of the Slonim Chassidic sect remained, and from the scores of <em>shtiblach </em>[small <em>shuls</em>] scattered throughout Europe, R. Shalom Noach survived…<br /><br />The following describes what he went through at that time, as he wrote:<br />"At the depths of the destruction in the camps and the ovens, at this time the word was getting out about how bad it was…Amongst all the pools of blood and tragic news that reached us, we hear of Baranovitch, where all that is holy to us, how it is being completely destroyed…I could not calm myself, my Slonim had been sunken and destroyed…and where am I? We turn around like lunatics, with streams of tears falling from our eyes each night, over the destruction of our people, and my strength is dissipating. And then…I decided, if I cannot save the people, and least I can invest all my strength to save the spirit..." A strong inner voice welled up within him, calling unceasingly, "Why do you slumber?"<br /><br />It was then that the Rebbe realized that he must take action. Since he survived, with the know-how and the ability, he had a mission: to restore 'the fallen <em>Sukka' </em>[hut], to erect a <em>yeshiva </em>in which to teach and pass on that which he received from his Rebbes and his father. After the destruction of the towns and <em>yeshivos </em>in Europe, he must continue the chain of the generations in Eretz Yisrael, from where it left off in Europe. "I must do everything in order to build the <em>Yeshiva</em>," he would say.<br /><br />There were those who discouraged him. "How can you build a <em>yeshiva</em>? There are hardly any students, no budget, and certainly no building!" And one of the elders claimed, "In the present state of affairs, we cannot continue our group as before. There’s no one left, no one can lead us! There’s no choice - we must join up with another group or another Chassidus…"<br /><br />The Rebbe answered him, "I, together with the students already in the <em>yeshiva</em>, are remaining - we won’t budge! For we believe with perfect faith that our holy group will continue, and we will remain until Moshiach comes!"<br /><br />So with his vision, he perceived the designs of his Rebbe, and rose up like a lion and founded the <em>Beis Avraham Yeshiva </em>in Jerusalem. He understood that the heavy task of reviving the Chassidic sect of Slonim lay upon his shoulders, and with great courage he mustered all his strength and began to rebuild the illustrious community. His father-in-law, the <em>Birchas Avraham</em>, saw him as the one who would bring about the revival of the Slonimer Chassidim and, like a father to his son, he lovingly supported him in his efforts.<br /><br />On Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 5702 / October 21, 1941, he opened the <em>yeshiva </em>in the <em>shul </em>of the Slonimer Chassidim in the <em>Beis Yisrael </em>neighborhood of Yerushalayim with just five students. He dedicated himself solely to educating generations of <em>talmidei chachamim </em>and <em>gedolei Torah</em>, personally instilling in each student the aspiration to grow in Torah and Chassidus. In a remarkable manner he merged the <em>lamdanus </em>[intellectual striving] of the <em>yeshiva </em>world with the fervor of Chassidus. His <em>shiurim</em>, which were well known for their depth, and his discourses in Torah and Chassidus, inspired his students to serve Hashem with added zeal. In his discourses he transmitted the spiritual legacy he had received from the mentors of the Slonimer Chassidic dynasty. R. Shalom Noach also could be found sitting with the students for hours on end, especially on Friday nights, teaching them the traditional Slonimer melodies.<br /><br />And so the Rebbe built the <em>Beis Avraham Yeshiva </em>of Slonim, in 1941, with a handful of students. He would remain as its <em>Rosh Yeshiva </em>for forty years! In time, it became one of the leading Chassidic <em>yeshivos </em>in Yerushalayim, with over 400 students today.<br /><br /><em>Zechuso yagein Aleinu, v’al Kol Yisrael! </em>May the Slonimer Rebbe's merits protect us all!yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-92052369242668811732009-07-26T17:42:00.002+03:002009-07-26T17:53:52.683+03:00What the Arizal Saw<div align="center"><div align="left">Today, 5 Av, is the 437th <em>yahrzeit </em>of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as "the holy <em>Ari </em>[or <em>Arizal</em>]." He revolutionized the study of Kabbalah and its integration into mainstream Judaism during the two years he spent in Tzfas before his death at the age of 38. Much of Chassidic thought is based on the Ari's teachings, as recorded by his main disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital.<br /><br />Our previous post: <a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/07/songs-and-praise-of-holy-arizal.html">Songs and Praise of the Holy Arizal</a><br /><br />The following is my translation of <a href="http://chabad.org.il/Magazines/Article.asp?ArticleID=6070&amp;CategoryID=1307">a story </a>that appeared in <a href="http://chabad.org.il/Magazines/Articles.asp?CategoryID=1307">this week</a>’s <a href="http://chabad.org.il/Magazines/Articles.asp?CategoryID=30"><em>Sichas HaShavua</em></a>, the very popular Chabad <em>parsha </em>sheet here in Israel. It should be noted that the R. Yitzchak in the story is not the <em>Arizal</em>, but his disciple, R. Yitzchak HaKohen. Rabbi Luria is referred to as "the <em>Ari</em>" throughout the story…<br /><br />***<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What the Ari Saw<br /></span></strong><br />Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the holy <em>Ari </em>[Lion], together with his students, made their way quietly from Tzfas to the grave of the Prophet, Hoshea ben Beari. They were accustomed to study in the mountains, and occasionally the Ari would invite the members of his group to pray at the various cemeteries that were scattered throughout the area. They already knew that by such visits, one could attach his soul to that of the <em>Tzaddik</em>, and learn secrets of Torah.<br /><br />The Ari stood near the grave of the Prophet in a long, silent prayer, surrounded by his students. Then they sat and listened to his discourse, words of Torah and <em>Kabbalah </em>that were beyond [most] human comprehension.<br /><br />Suddenly, the students noticed that their Rav’s face had changed. The joy that always reigned turned to an expression of stressful concern. For quite a time the Ari was thoughtful, and then he turned to his students: "I have just been informed that a difficult decree is now hovering over the inhabitants of Tzfas. A plague of locusts will descend on Tzfas, that will eat all the grass of the land and consume all the fruit trees, until there will be no source of sustenance remaining in the area."<br /></div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362780122114400946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 293px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SmxsG5snorI/AAAAAAAAAlY/9Ff-zwV6Zzs/s400/swarm+of+locusts.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">[a swarm of locusts]</span></div><br />The students became very frightened and asked: "Rebbe, for what has this severe punishment been decreed? What sin have the residents of Tzfas committed?"<br /><br />The Ari replied: "All this has come about because of one Jew, named Yaakov Altrin. He is terribly poor and has lost his source of <em>parnasa </em>[livelihood]. He poured out his grievance about his severe condition to Hashem. When they saw from Heaven that none of the inhabitants of Tzfas had come to help, the harsh decree was issued."<br /><br />"But, Rabbi," the students called, "perhaps it is possible to do something, to save the whole town from distress, Heaven forbid. What should we do?"<br /><br />The Ari ordered each of his students to contribute a certain sum of money, which amounted to a respectable sum. Then the Ari summoned R. Yitzchak HaKohen, his student, gave him the bundle of money, bidding him to take it and deliver it to the poor man.<br /><br />R. Yitzchak went out and searched the entrances to the city, until he located the house of the man. The external appearance of the house was quite miserable. The student knocked on the door, but was not answered. Only the sound of bitter weeping could be heard coming from the house. Strengthening himself, the student opened the door, and lo and behold, he saw R. Yaakov Altrin sitting in the center of the house, surrounded by his family. His speech was directed upwards, and he was crying...<br /><br />The surprise entry of the Ari’s student immediately silenced R. Yaakov’s crying. He looked into the visitor’s face in wonder and, asked: "What do you want?"<br /><br />R. Yitzchak told him that he was a student of the Ari, and he had just heard that R. Yaakov was in deep trouble and would like to help him. "What happened to you, and why do you cry?" asked R. Yitzchak.<br /><br />R. Yaakov poured out his heart before his guest. He told of his daily struggle to earn a livelihood, to bring bread home. He had a large ceramic jug, with which he brought water to the homes of his neighbors in the region. With the little he earned from this, he had managed to support his family. Now the jug had broken, and his livelihood went down with it. Without a jug, there was no point to go out to work, and he could no longer feed his children and family.<br /><br />"In my distress, I turned to Hashem," the simple Jew added. "I claimed: Is this proper for me? Has the penalty of hunger been decreed upon me and my family? Am I more evil than the rest of the world? Does He not sustain the World with grace, lovingkindness and mercy? Why did He take away the source of my income from me?..."<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362780122237292738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 350px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SmxsG6J60MI/AAAAAAAAAlg/7QbpylSMKkQ/s400/Sack+of+Gold.jpg" border="0" /><br />The student was amazed to see how right the words of the Ari were. He took out the bundle of money collected by the students, turned to the Jew and said: "Listen R. Yaakov, Hashem has heard your prayers, and from now on you will no longer lack anything. We, the residents of Tzfas, will support your family, for whatever is needed."<br /><br />His face lit up, and his joy knew no bounds. He looked happily at his family, and at the coins placed into his hands, and did not stop thanking Hashem and expressing his thanks to the guest who came just at the right moment, to save his family from the shame of hunger.<br /><br />However, R. Yitzchak paid no heed to these words of thanks. With a serious face, he turned to the Jew in a tone of reproof: "Do you know that on account of you, almost all the residents of Tzfas were at risk of extinction and hunger?! When you come with your claims against Hashem, they looked down and saw from Heaven - that you were without any help from your brethren and neighbors, and a harsh decree was cast. If not for our holy Rabbi who heard of this, and in whose merit all the residents of the city were saved..."<br /><br />The man was very sorry about the things he said in his distress, and promised that henceforth he would put his trust in Hashem, and complain no more. He departed from R. Yitzchak excitedly, and the latter returned to his friends to tell them the story of R. Yaakov.<br /><br />The group of friends [disciples] asked the Ari whether the decree had indeed been averted. He responded to them, that indeed, the charity money they had gave to the poor man worked to remove the decree from the residents of Tzfas.<br /><br />Time passed - and suddenly, what seemed to be a heavy cloud of locusts was seen approaching the hills of Tzfas. Horror befell them all. The students turned to their Rebbe, and asked if the Divine decree had not been averted after all. The Ari’s face was peaceful and shining, and he did not seem to worry at all. "Continue to learn, my sons," he said, "and your concern will pass."<br /><br />A few moments passed, and a strong wind appeared and moved the entire cloud of locusts out to the sea, until not one remained.<br /><br />The story spread and made waves, everyone learned that in the merit of the holy vision of the Ari, the entire area was saved from a plague of locusts.<br /><br /><em>Zechuso yagein Aleinu, v’al Kol Yisrael!</em>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-50952517641360548822009-07-03T15:50:00.005+03:002009-07-05T13:43:33.796+03:00Who Had the Last Laugh?<div align="left"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/Sk4BiU779kI/AAAAAAAAAk4/INgTab9GrRw/s1600-h/Maharyatz+in+spodik,+laughing.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354218696237381186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 280px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/Sk4BiU779kI/AAAAAAAAAk4/INgTab9GrRw/s400/Maharyatz+in+spodik,+laughing.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/Sk4By8AKD8I/AAAAAAAAAlI/kBnLt-6sEOc/s1600-h/Hammer_sickle+sm.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354218981601972162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 1px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 1px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/Sk4By8AKD8I/AAAAAAAAAlI/kBnLt-6sEOc/s400/Hammer_sickle+sm.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SlCDQdob_MI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/TEcYKFtnSW4/s400/hammer_and_sickle.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354924275798899906" /><br /></div><div align="left"><em>Although I am not a Lubavitcher, I can certainly appreciate the greatness of the Maharyatz, the sixth Rebbe of Lubavitch, whose 82nd anniversary of his release from imprisonment is this Shabbos, 12 Tamuz. So without further ado, I would like to present the following two pieces, by two different Chabad Chassidim. I have done some lightly editing for this site. I believe the two pieces are quite complementary - and complimentary! - to each other.<br /></em><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Unwavering Self-Sacrifice<br /></span></strong><em>by Rabbi Tuvia Bolton, from www.OhrTmimim.org – reprinted from L'Chaim Weekly<br /></em>The Maharyatz [the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]'s birthday and the anniversary of his release from imprisonment by the Communists are both on the 12th of Tamuz. The following stories took place during and immediately after the Maharyatz's imprisonment.<br />Immediately after being arrested the Maharyatz made a firm resolution in his mind that he would pay no attention to his captors, as though they posed no threat to him at all. Several days later, after he had been exposed to the murder and sadism of the prison, he was taken into a room and ordered to sign certain papers. As per his resolution he paid no attention to the demand and was beaten. But still he remained unmoved. Furious, one of the interrogators pulled out a pistol, put it to the Rebbe’s head and said, "This little toy has convinced everyone to do what we say."<br />This fellow, like all the other prison staff, was a murderer and there was absolutely no reason for him not to simply pull the trigger. He had obviously done so many times before.<br />The Rebbe replied matter-of-factly, "That 'toy' scares people like you who have only one world and many gods. But I have one G-d and two worlds [physical and spiritual] so it does not scare me."<br />The guard inexplicitly did nothing.<br />After a few days, the Rebbe’s fate was sealed. He was found guilty of subversion and was sentenced to death. Through world pressure, the sentence was commuted to three years in Siberian exile.<br />Then, even more inexplicitly, the Rebbe was given special permission to leave the jail three days early, visit his family for several hours and then travel, at his own expense, to Kostroma, his town of exile.<br />This was a true miracle. Every instant in the prison was a true danger to his life; he was easy prey for the anti-Semitic guards and prisoners. Hundreds of Jews "disappeared" or "died" daily and he could easily be one of them.<br />But to everyone's amazement, as soon as he realized that according to their itinerary he would have to travel on Shabbos, he refused to leave until after Shabbos ended. He actually stayed extra time in that hell so as to not desecrate the Sabbath.<br />Why did the Rebbe do this? According to Jewish law he was permitted to travel on Shabbos in order to leave that place, as every additional moment there was a threat to his life. But the Rebbe was determined to show even his evil captors that G-d, not Stalin, is the Boss of the world. And that they were powerless against the Torah.<br />The third story took place that Sunday as he boarded the train to leave the prison. We must remember that the Rebbe was imprisoned for teaching anti-Communist doctrines and everyone connected to him was immediately suspected of the same.<br />Nevertheless, a large crowd of people threw caution to the wind and came to see him off. They could not forego the opportunity of drawing inspiration from the Rebbe.<br />Just moments before the train left, the Rebbe made a stirringly emotional and revolutionary speech; here is a translation (from the <em>Yiddish</em>) of some of what he said:<br />"We must make one thing known to all the nations are on the face of the earth: That only our bodies are in exile and servitude to the gentiles, but our souls never entered exile and were never servants to the other nations.<br />"We must announce and advertise before the entire world that anything that relates to our Jewish religion, the Torah, the commandments and even the customs, can never be changed by opinions. We Jews have no outside forces or opinions that can change us. We must declare with the greatest Jewish stubbornness with thousands of years of Jewish self-sacrifice, 'Never touch My anointed and My prophets do not harm.'<br />"We must pray that G-d give us the proper strength to not be affected in any way by these physical tribulations but rather to treat them with joy! That every, punishment we receive, G-d forbid, for opening a children's school, teaching Torah or doing the commandments should give us more enthusiasm in our holy task of strengthening Judaism. Remember! The jails and camps are temporary. But Torah, the commandments and the Jewish people are eternal…"<br />In other words, to a crowd filled with informers and secret police he exhorted Russian Jewry to continue the very "subversive" work for which he was imprisoned.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">***</div><div align="left"><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Stalin vs. Schneerson - 82 Years Later, Who Won?<br /></span><em>by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson<br /></em></strong>If there was ever a battle fought in vain, this was it. The year is 1924. Vladimir Lenin, the father of the Communist revolution, is dead; over 900,000 people pass through the Hall of Columns during the four days and nights that Lenin lay in state. Jozef Stalin succeeds him as the new leader of the Soviet Union. During the following thirty years, he would murder 20 million of his own people. Jews and Judaism would be one of his primary targets. He sets up a special government organization, the Yevsektzye, to ensure that Russian Jewry in its millions embrace the new ethos of Communism, introducing a paradise constructed of bullets and gulags. Stalin would rule with an iron fist till his death in March 1953, when four million people would gather in Red Square to bid farewell to the tyrant revered and beloved by much of his nation and by many millions the world over.<br />At his home in Leningrad (today Petersburg), a 44-year-old rabbi, heir to some of the great Jewish leaders of Russian Jewry, summons nine young disciples. He offers them an opportunity most would refuse: to take responsibility for the survival of Judaism in the Soviet Union; to ensure that Jewish life and faith would survive the hellish darkness of Stalin's regime. He wants them to fight "till the last drop of blood," in his words.<br />They agree. He gives his hand to each of them as a sign that they are accepting an oath, an oath that would transform their destiny forever. "I will be the tenth, he says; together we have a minyan..."<br /><strong>An Underground Revolution</strong><br />The nine men were dispatched throughout the country. With assistance from similar-minded colleagues, they created an impressive underground network of Jewish activity, which included Jewish schools, synagogues, <em>mikvaos </em>(ritual baths used by Jewish women for spiritual feminine reinvigoration), adult Torah education, <em>Yeshivot </em>(academies for Torah learning for students), Jewish text books, providing rabbis for communities, teachers for schools, etc. Over the 1920s and 1930s, these individuals built six hundred (!) Jewish underground schools throughout the USSR.* Many of them last for only a few weeks or months. When the KGB (the secret Russian police) discovered a school, the children were expelled, the teacher arrested. A new one was opened elsewhere, usually in a cell or on a roof.<br />One of the nine young men was sent to Georgia. There were dozens of <em>mikvaos </em>there, all shut down by the Communists who buried them in sand and gravel. This young man decided to do something radical. He falsified a letter written supposedly by the KGB headquarters in Moscow, instructing the local offices in Georgia to open two mikvaot within 24 hours.<br />The local officials were deceived. Within a day, two <em>mikvaos </em>were open. Several months later, when they discovered the lie, they shut them down again. And so it went. A <em>mohel </em>(the person performing the <em>mitzva </em>of circumcision) was arrested, and another one was dispatched to serve the community; a <em>yeshiva </em>was closed, and another one opened elsewhere; a synagogue was destroyed and another one opened its portals in secrecy.<br />But it sure seemed like a lost battle. Here was an individual rabbi, with a small group of pupils, staging an underground rebellion against a mighty empire that numbered in the hundreds of millions, and aspired to dominate the world. It was like an infant wrestling a giant, an ant attempting to defeat a human. The situation was hopeless.<br />Finally, in 1927 – eighty-two years ago -- they lost their patience with him. The rabbi behind the counter-revolutionary work was arrested and sentenced to death by a firing squad. Foreign pressure and nothing less than a miracle convinced the KGB to alter the sentence to ten years in exile. It was then converted to three years, and then -- quite unbelievable in the Soviet Regime where clergy and laymen alike were murdered like flies -- he was completely exonerated. This Shabbos, July 4, the 12th of the Hebrew month of Tamuz, marks the 82nd anniversary of the day he was liberated from Stalin’s death sentence and imprisonment.<br />The individual behind the mutiny was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (1880-1950), who became the leader of Chabad in 1920, after the passing of his father. He selected nine of his young pupils to do battle with him. The one sent to Georgia, falsifying the KGB document, was my grandfather, Simon Yakabashvili [Jacobson], my father's father (1900-1953). He, together with hundreds of his colleagues, Chassidim throughout the Soviet Union, was arrested in 1938, tortured mercilessly and given a 25-year sentence in the Gulag. Most of his eight colleagues who accepted the oath never made it out of Stalin's hell. They perished in the Soviet Union. (My grandfather made it out, but died several years later in Toronto).<br /><strong>Investing in Eternity</strong><br />More than eight decades have passed. This passage of time gives us the opportunity to answer the question, who won? Stalin or Schneerson? Eighty years ago, Marx’s socialism and Lenin’s Communism heralded a new era for humanity. Its seemingly endless power and brutality seemed unreachable.<br />Yet one man stood up, a man who would not allow the awesome war machine of Mother Russia to blare his vision, to eclipse his clarity. In the depths of his soul he was aware that history had an undercurrent often invisible to most but discernable for students of the long and dramatic narrative of our people. He knew with full conviction that evil might thrive but it will die; yet G-dliness -- embodied in Torah and <em>Mitzvos </em>-- are eternal. And he chose to invest in eternity.<br />He did not know how exactly how it would work out in the end, but he knew that his mission in life was to sow seeds though the trees were being felled one by one.<br />Cynics scoffed at him; close friends told him he was making a tragic mistake. Even many of his religious colleagues were convinced that he was wasting his time and energy fighting an impossible war. They either fled the country or kept a very low profile.<br />But 80 years later, this giant and what he represented have emerged triumphant. Today, in 2009, in the republics of the former Soviet Union stand hundreds of synagogues, Jewish day schools, <em>yeshivos</em>, <em>mikvaos</em>, Jewish community centers. As summer is about to begin, dozens of Jewish day camps are about to open up throughout the former Union with tens of thousands of Jewish children who will enjoy a blissful summer coupled with the celebration of Jewish life.<br />Last Chanuka, a large <em>menora </em>stood tall in the Kremlin, casting the glow of Chanuka on the grounds where Stalin walked with Berya and Yezhov. On Lag B’Omer (a Jewish holiday), thousands of Jewish children with kippot on their heads marched the streets of Moscow with signs proclaiming, "Hear O Israel... G-d is One." Jewish life is bustling in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, etc.<br />Comrade Stalin is dead; Communism has faded away as hopelessly irrelevant and destructive. The sun of the nations is today a clod of darkness. The ideology of the Soviet Empire which declared "Lenin has not died and Stalin will not die. He is eternal," is now a mockery. Stalin and Lenin are as dead as one can be. But the <em>Mikvaos </em>built by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1927, they are still here.<br />If you will visit Russia this coming Shabbos, I am not sure you will find anybody celebrating the life and vision of Stalin or even Khrushchev and Brezhnev. But you will find tens of thousands of Jews celebrating the liberation of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1927 and the narrative of one man’s triumph over one of the greatest mass-murderers in human history, sharing his vision, committing themselves to continue his labor of saturating the world with the light of Torah and Mitzvos. <em>L’Chaim</em>!</div><div align="left"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">* This figure was given to me [RYY Jacobson] by Rabbi Shalom Ber Levin, chief librarian of the Central Lubavitch Library.</span></div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-17697476796814609452009-04-05T19:26:00.002+03:002009-04-05T20:10:49.493+03:00When the Sun Sings Again<em>Due to the once-in-28-years Mitzva of Birchas HaChama [Blessing of the Sun], we present <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/8691">the following piece</a>, adapted for our site, which appeared on <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/">Arutz-7</a>'s English website.</em><br /><br /><a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/8691"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">When the Sun Sings Again<br /></span><em>by Rabbi Lazer Gurkow (IsraelNN.com)<br /></em></strong></a><strong>A Unique Event<br /></strong>On Wednesday morning, April 8, 2009, Jews around the world will recite a blessing over the sun that was last recited in twenty-eight years ago. This blessing is recited when the sun returns to its point of origin, where it was when it was first created. Though the sun passes this point every year, it only passes this point on a Wednesday morning, the morning of its creation (the sun was created on the fourth of the six days of creation), once in twenty-eight years.<br />The astronomical calculations that lead to this conclusion are beyond the scope of this essay and have been well presented in the essays and books published in honor of the occasion. In this essay, we ask why we chant the blessing only when the sun arrives at its point of origin. Why don't we bless Hashem for the sun every day?<br /><strong>Celestial Silence<br /></strong>To answer this question, we go back to a novel event that occurred more than thirty-three-hundred years ago. Yehoshua led the Jewish army in battle against the native tribes of the Land of Israel. Once, during a particularly vicious battle in the vicinity of Givon, the sun was about to set and Yehoshua, worried about the chaotic conditions of nighttime battle, prayed that sunset be delayed until the battle could be won. His prayers were answered and remarkably the sun did not set that day until the tide of battle turned and our ancestors emerged triumphant. (1)<br />It is interesting to note the precise words of Yehoshua's prayer. He did not ask Hashem to suspend the sun's pattern of descent, he asked that the sun be silenced; a curious choice of words for an otherwise remarkable prayer. What did he mean? Does the sun in fact sing a song?<br /><strong>Melodies of the Zodiac<br /></strong>Maimonides taught that the sun and the celestial bodies are beings of supreme intelligence and passionate souls. (2) The frenetic pace of their physical movement is a reflection of their soul's intense passion and excitement.<br />The Torah declares, "The hosts of heaven bow to you." (3) The mystics explained this curious Biblical passage by pointing to the continuous voyage of the celestial bodies across the sky. Stars and planets orbit at incredible speeds, argued the mystics, because they are possessed by an innate knowledge of Hashem and are moved by a powerful urge to draw closer to him. Their headlong rush across the vast tapestries of the skies reflects their deep yearning for a closer, more intimate, connection to Hashem. (4)<br />This, the mystics explained, is why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The Holy of Holies, the room that housed the Divine Presence, in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, was on the west side of the Temple Mount. The sun's constant movement westward represents its desire to draw closer to the Divine Presence in the west. (6) In fact, its descent toward the west is its way of bowing to the Divine presence. (5) And as its body bows to Hashem so does its soul. Its soul's devotion is expressed in the stirring melodies that it sings, as Iyov said, "The morning stars sing together and the angels shout for joy." (7)<br />One can almost imagine Yehoshua's thought process when he asked that the sun be silenced. Yehoshua needed more daylight to lead the Jews to victory. He knew that if he would ask the sun to arrest its descent the sun might object, citing its need to bow to Hashem over the skies of Israel. Yehoshua appealed to Hashem asking that the sun's spiritual journey be suspended in favor of the more important objective - the victory of the Jewish people.<br />The sun was created to serve Hashem's purpose, but that Jews conquer the Land of Israel was Hashem's will. Yehoshua argued that the latter was more important than the former; Jewish victory should outweigh the sun's melody of devotion. He asked that the sun be silenced and his wish was granted. (8)<br /><strong>A New Song<br /></strong>We might suggest that this is also why we recite the blessing over the sun once in twenty-eight years. The sun's journey across our skies represents a constant melody sung by the sun in praise of Hashem. There is little reason for us to chime in every day, tuning in and out of the sun's twenty-eight year melody.<br /><br />However, the day that the sun reaches its point of origin and departs on a new cycle around the world is different. This day inaugurates a whole new epoch. As the sun's physical journey begins anew, so does its spiritual journey. On this day the sun begins an entirely new melody, which is why it is fitting that we gather to bless its voyage and salute its devotion with a melody of our own. (9)<br />This is why we gather in large groups amid great fanfare. It is not only in celebration of a novel blessing, it is a celebration of the sun's devotion; a royal send-off of Hashem's devoted servant.<br />Indeed, on this day the heavens speak the glory of Hashem. (10)<br /><br /><strong><u>Footnotes<br /></u></strong>1) <em>Yehoshua </em>10:12-13.<br />2) <em>Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah </em>3:9<br />3) <em>Nechemia </em>9:6<br />4) <em>Derech Mitzvosecha, Mitzvos Mila </em>5a and <em>Siddur Tefillos Mikol HaShana, Shaar HaMila </em>142a<br />5) <em>Tanya</em>, Ch. 42<br />6) This essay is based on a geocentric version of the universe, which has been the traditional position of Jewish scholars. A scholarly debate has sprung up on this issue since modern science adopted Copernicus' heliocentric view of the Universe. However, the ideas developed in this essay are not impacted by the scientific reality of the Universe because its treatment of the sun is relative to our point of view. The reason the sun appears to set in the west is because its soul is indeed anchored in the west. See <em>Igros Kodesh </em>of the Lubavitcher Rebbe for a fascinating perspective on how this debate is impacted by the Theory of Relativity.<br />7) <em>Iyov </em>38:7<br />8) See <em>Toras Menachem </em>5745, p. 2367, where it is further explained that the spiritual blessing of the nations is derived from the sun, whose ability to draw Divine blessing to the world is rooted in its absolute devotion and reflected in its pattern of westerly descent. Yehoshua needed to arrest the sun's descent in order to ensure Jewish victory over the nations.<br />9) Though the sun and earth are aligned in their original positions once every year, we do not recite the blessing every year. This is because the sun's circuit around the earth (or the earth's around the sun) is not only measured in spatial distance, but also in time (possibly because the sun's position determines all forms of time, including that of day, season and calendar year). We do not consider the circuit complete until it reaches its point of origin at its time of origin, which is the beginning of the fourth day of the week. Because a tropical year is 365.25 days (slightly longer than fifty-two weeks), this alignment only occurs once in twenty-eight years.<br />10) <em>Tehillim </em>19:2<br /><br /><em>Rabbi Eliezer (Lazer) Gurkow, currently serving as rabbi of congregation Beth Tefilla in London, Ontario, is a well-known speaker and writer on Torah issues and current affairs. </em>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-64987395534115139272009-04-04T22:16:00.008+03:002009-04-05T06:41:59.831+03:00Birchas HaChama 5769 - Blessing of the Sun<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pVIyzAO-yR4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pVIyzAO-yR4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />A beautiful video by Moshe [Musa] Berlin, with him playing the tune "Ohr Chadash al Tzion Ta'ir" [May a New Light Shine on Zion] composed by Rav Ben-Zion Shenker, a Modzitzer Chassid, I believe in the 1960s.yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-45858570198659967902009-02-10T14:32:00.003+02:002009-02-10T14:41:48.662+02:00Get Me to Kuzmir for Purim!Tonight and Wednesday, 17 Shvat, is the 153rd <em>yahrzeit </em>of <strong>Rebbe Yechezkel of Kuzmir</strong>, one of the leading <em>talmidim </em>of the Chozeh of Lublin, and the <em>Avi HaShosheles </em>[founder] of the Modzitz Chassidic dynasty. The first Modzitzer Rebbe, the <em>Divrei Yisrael</em>, was his grandson.You can find out more about him here, in our previous posts:<br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2008/01/why-are-you-staring-at-me.html">Why Are You Staring At Me?</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/02/rebbe-yechezkel-of-kuzmir-founder-of.html">Rebbe Yechezkel of Kuzmir, founder of the Modzitz Dynasty</a><br />and also at this post, about the Rebbe Reb Elimelech:<br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-remember-him-from-rebbe.html">I Remember Him from the Rebbe</a><br /><br />***<br /><br /><em>The following is based on a story in Negina v'Chassidus b'Veis Kuzmir u'Vnoseha, by M.S. Geshuri; as told by R. Moshe Taub of Kfar Atta, who heard it from the Tzaddik of Volomin<br /></em><br />The Torah requires all adult men [over 13] to journey on the Three Festivals [<em>Shalosh Regalim </em>- Pesach, Shavuos and Sukkos] to the <em>Beis HaMikdash </em>[Holy Temple] in Yerushalayim, as it says, "Three times a year shall all your males come to see the face of Hashem, in the place which He shall choose [the Temple]" [<em>Devarim</em>, 16:16]. Our Sages admonish us that "one's reverence for his Rebbe should be as one's reverence for Heaven" [<em>Pirkei Avos</em>, 4:12]. According to the Maharal, this is the reason for another instruction from our Sages: "One is obligated to visit his Rebbe on the <em>Regel </em>[the Three Festivals mentioned above]." However, the Gemara [<em>Rosh Hashana</em>, 16b] cites another verse: "Why are you going to him today? It is neither Shabbos nor Rosh Chodesh" [<em>Melachim II</em>, 4:23]. "From this," continues the Gemara, "we learn that on Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh one needs to go." According to the text of Rabbeinu Chananel, the Gemara then asks, "Are we speaking about the <em>Regel</em>?" It answers, "If his Rebbe lives nearby, he must go to greet him every Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh. If he lives far away, then he must come [at least] on the <em>Regel</em>."<br /><br />The <em>gedolei haChassidus </em>[great Chassidic Rebbes] revealed even more about the benefits of journeying to one's Rebbe on a Shabbos or holiday. "…one goes to <em>Tzaddikim </em>for Shabbos, for in their preparation for Shabbos, they bring Hashem's Name into the Shabbos foods. By eating at their <em>Tish </em>[table] with pure intentions, one can ingest the sanctity of Shabbos and the Divine Name, and be blessed and rewarded with all kinds of benefits" [Rebbe Yechezkel of Kuzmir, <em>Parshas Naso</em>].<br /><br />The <em>Divrei Yisrael </em>taught us [<em>Parshas Vayigash</em>] that "in truth, for this itself - to come to <em>Teshuva, emuna </em>and <em>bitachon </em>[repentance, faith and trust in Hashem] one needs to come to the <em>Tzaddik</em>." And about Rebbe Yechezkel himself, Chassidim would say that on Shavuos in Kuzmir, one could experience the same spiritual arousal as the Jews had on Mount Sinai when they received the Torah. In short, the benefits of visiting one’s Rebbe on Shabbos or Yom Tov were enormous!<br /><br />***<br /><br />Now the town of Kuzmir, where Rebbe Yechezkel lived, is located on the banks of the Vistula River, on the opposite side from Warsaw. Anyone traveling from Warsaw to Kuzmir to visit the Rebbe had to cross the river. All year long, Chassidim would travel from Warsaw to the village of Yanovtzeh, located directly opposite Kuzmir. One could even see Kuzmir from the Yanovtzeh side of the river. They would then take a small boat across the river to Kuzmir.<br /><br />However, in the winter, the river would freeze over, and it was impossible to go by boat. Then, people would cross the frozen river by foot, which was still the shortest way to get to Kuzmir. There was a Kuzmirer Chassid who lived in Yanovtzeh, whom all the Chassidim would visit on their way to the Rebbe. They would often have a meal in his home, before making their way by boat [or by foot, in the winter] to their destination.<br /><br />One year, two Kuzmirer Chassidim had a tremendous urge to spend Purim with Reb Chatzkel. They arrived in Yanovtzeh on <em>Ta'anis Esther </em>[the day before Purim], and came to the home of the Chassid who lived there, to rest from their journey before going on to Kuzmir for Purim.<br /><br />"You've come today," said the Chassid to them upon their arrival. "It's too bad that you won't be able to spend Purim with the Rebbe. The frozen river is beginning to melt, and the ice isn't solid enough to walk on. And it's too icy to cross the river by boat as well."<br /><br />The two Chassidim were heartbroken to learn that they couldn't spend Purim with their Rebbe, after such a long and arduous journey to get to Yanovtzeh. Meanwhile, the time for the <em>Mincha </em>[afternoon] prayer had arrived, and the local Chassid went to shul to daven and afterwards [at nightfall] to hear the <em>Megilla</em>, taking his two guests with him - for he feared they may endanger themselves by trying to cross the river.<br /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301145849704332658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SZF0EEopvXI/AAAAAAAAAkw/2-qHve-CXeg/s400/zzz-icy+river.JPG" border="0" /><br />After <em>davening Mincha</em>, the two Chassidim went down to the river to see for themselves. It was absolutely quiet, and not a soul was found venturing forth on the river. Suddenly, a few <em>goyim </em>[non-Jews] appeared and asked them in Polish, "Why are you standing here and staring out over the river?"<br /><br />"We want to cross the river, but it's impossible!" they replied.<br /><br />"You foolish Jews! Come with us, we're also going across."<br /><br />The Chassidim, tempted by their words, followed the <em>goyim </em>as they attempted to cross the river, walking on the ice. When they got towards the middle of the river, the Chassidim noticed that all the <em>goyim </em>who were walking in front of them had fallen into the icy waters! Realizing their dangerous predicament, they thought to turn around and head back towards Yanovtzeh. But they couldn't, for patches of ice were bobbing up and down in the water, preventing them from moving. They began to recite "<em>Shema Yisrael</em>," and tried to remember some <em>divrei Torah </em>from their Rebbe - but because of the impending danger to their lives, they couldn't remember a thing.<br /><br />Suddenly a man appeared alongside of them, carrying a jug with which to draw water from the river. "Why are you standing here?" he asked them in Polish.<br /><br />"We don't know how to go, and it's very dangerous!" they replied.<br /><br />"Come with me, and I'll show you how to get out of here," he told them. In moments, they found themselves across the river, in Kuzmir. They hurried off to the Rebbe's house, with great joy.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Meanwhile, in Rebbe Yechezkel's <em>Beis Medrash</em>, the whole time these Chassidim were in danger, the <em>Megilla </em>was open on the table, the <em>Ba'al Koreh </em>[reader] was ready to begin, but Reb Chatzkel did not allow him to say the opening <em>brachos </em>[blessings]. No one knew why, or for whom, they were waiting. As soon as the two Chassidim came into the <em>Beis Medrash</em>, the Rebbe signaled the <em>Ba'al Koreh </em>to begin the <em>Megilla</em>, without even greeting his newly-arrived guests.<br /><br />After the Megilla reading, the Rebbe summoned the two Chassidim and greeted them. "Are you really Chassidim?" he asked. "Have you forgotten that our Sages say, not to rely on a miracle? I went through so much trouble, until I was forced to send Eliyahu HaNavi after you to rescue you!"<br /><br />Only then did everyone understand why the Rebbe had delayed the reading of the <em>Megilla</em>, and how he saw from afar with <em>Ruach HaKodesh</em>.<br />***<br /> <br /><em>Zechuso shel Rebbe Chatzkel m’Kuzmir yagein Aleinu v’al Kol Yisrael – </em>May Rebbe Yechezkel’s merits protect us all!yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-10350641023166235092009-01-28T23:00:00.006+02:002009-01-28T23:12:01.006+02:00How R. Moshe Leib Sassover Became a Chassid<div><div>Tonight and tomorrow, the 4th of Shvat, is the <em>yahrzeit </em>of <a href="http://www.darchenoam.org/discussion/chesed3.htm">Rebbe Moshe Leib of Sassov</a>, a talmid of the <a href="http://www.nehora.com/Tzadikim/tz_viewer.cfm?id=207&amp;page=nikolsburg.htm&amp;t=Rabbi%20Shmuel%20Shmelke%20Halevi%20of%20Nikolsburg">Rebbe Reb Shmelke of Nikolsburg</a>. Born in the year 5505 [1745] in Brody, he was the author of several <em>chiddushim </em>on the Talmud [<em>Chiddushei RaMaL</em>], <a href="http://www.belzerseforim.com/pdf/likuteramala.pdf"><em>Likkutei RaMaL</em></a>, and <a href="http://www.belzerseforim.com/pdf/toratharamal.pdf"><em>Toras RaMaL HaShalem</em></a>. He subsequently became a Rebbe in his own right with many followers, and was famous primarily for his love of his fellow Jews and his creative musical talent.<br /><br /><strong>Previous posts:<br /></strong><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2007/01/rebbe-moshe-leibs-intense-love-of.html">Intense Love of the Jewish People</a><br /><a href="http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2006/02/niggun-to-live-and-die-for.html">A <em>Niggun </em>to Live and Die For</a><br /><br />The following story is from my good friend <a href="http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=435-25">Yrachmiel’s Ascent website</a>.</div><div> </div><div>***</div><div> </div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Stuffed Lion and the Half Suit</span></strong><br /><em>Translated by Basha Majerczyk<br /></em>The city of Brod was renowned for its Torah scholars, the most famous of whom was the sage Rebbe Moshe Leib. Like many of his colleagues at the time, he was wary of the new Chassidic movement that was then making inroads.<br />The sexton of Rebbe Moshe Leib's synagogue had a daughter who had been suffering for some time from a mysterious digestive disorder. When the sexton heard about the Chassidic rebbe, Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, he decided to go to him to ask for a blessing for his daughter. The Rebbe gave him some food his wife had prepared, and instructed him to feed it to the girl. As soon as she tasted it her pains went away.<br />The sexton was filled with wonder and appreciation. He was so impressed by what had happened that he decided to share the good news with Rebbe Moshe Leib. He urged him to go to Rebbe Elimelech to see for himself.<br />At first Rebbe Moshe Leib was adamantly opposed to the plan, considering it a waste of time that could be better utilized studying Torah. "And besides," he countered, "you know I don't really believe in these newfangled wonder workers..."<br />But the sexton was persistent. "On the contrary," he said. "You, as a rabbi, have an obligation to check him out for yourself. If you determine that Rebbe Elimelech isn't a true <em>tzaddik </em>(righteous person), you can persuade people not to go to him. But if you find that he really is a holy man, you will have succeeded in dispelling a lot of false notions."<br />In the end Rebbe Moshe Leib consented and traveled to Lizhensk. The whole way there he thought about what he would say to the Chassidic master, and composed various questions to test his scholarship and piety.<br />Rebbe Moshe Leib arrived in Lizhensk on a Friday afternoon. He was surprised when he saw that Rebbe Elimelech lived in a tiny little house - not the grand mansion that he had imagined. His surprise grew when he realized that Rebbe Elimelech himself was standing on the threshold, waiting for him. The <em>tzaddik </em>extended his hand in greeting.<br />"Come in, come in," he said to him warmly. "I've heard so much about you. They say that you're one of the most distinguished Torah scholars in all of Brod." Rebbe Moshe Leib felt a surge of pride.<br />"Therefore," Rebbe Elimelech continued, "I'd like to tell you an interesting story." Rebbe Moshe Leib's face fell, but the <em>tzaddik </em>didn't seem to notice. </div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296453228685653538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SYDIJlFHdiI/AAAAAAAAAkg/4phukh3Xrpc/s400/stuffed+lion.jpg" border="0" /></div><div><br />"There was once a brave warrior who did battle with a ferocious lion and succeeded in slaying it. To commemorate his heroic deed, he skinned the animal and filled its hide with straw. He then placed the stuffed lion in front of his house so that everyone would know how strong and courageous he was.<br />"When the rumor spread that there was a lion guarding his door, all the animals of the forest came to see for themselves. They stood at a distance, too fearful to approach. But there was once clever fox who quickly perceived that the lion wasn't moving. He crept closer, and with one paw swiped at the beast. When he saw that it wasn't alive, he tore the skin apart and the straw fell out. All the animals laughed and returned to the forest."<br />Rebbe Moshe Leib looked at the <em>tzaddik</em>, not comprehending his meaning. Why had he made the long trip from Brod to Lizhensk? To hear animal stories? He couldn't believe that Rebbe Elimelech had nothing more important to do on a Friday afternoon than tell tales. He was about to say good-bye and return to his inn when the <em>tzaddik </em>continued. "No, don't leave just yet. I have another story to tell you. </div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296453234479008242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 289px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 296px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bAaYMTUhaoU/SYDIJ6qXCfI/AAAAAAAAAko/AJxq9aGjq7w/s400/half+suit.jpg" border="0" /><br />"There was once a very poor man who had never in his life owned a new set of clothes. One day his luck changed, and he came into a large inheritance. The first thing he did was to summon a tailor and commission a fine new garment as befits a nobleman. The tailor measured the man from head to toe, and a few days later returned for the first fitting.<br />"The man put on the half-completed suit as the tailor rearranged the pins and basting stitches and made little markings with chalk. Ignorant of the way a custom garment is made, the man assumed the tailor was mocking him and threw him out of the house, despite his protestations."<br />That was the end of the story. Rebbe Moshe Leib, completely confused, went back to the inn to prepare for Shabbat.<br />Then it hit him: Perhaps the <em>tzaddik </em>was talking about him with his strange tales? Maybe he was trying to tell him that he was only a "stuffed lion"? And like the poor man with the new set of clothes, could it be that he was only posturing as a nobleman? His whole life would have to be reconsidered...<br />That evening in the synagogue Rebbe Moshe Leib studied the <em>tzaddik </em>in an entirely different way. He became an ardent disciple of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, and later a Chassidic master himself in the city of Sassov.</div><div> </div><div>***</div><div><em></em> </div><div><em>Zechuso yagein Aleinu </em>- May Rebbe Moshe Leib's merits protect us!</div></div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14986277.post-45545393062834563732009-01-21T13:47:00.001+02:002009-01-21T13:47:48.906+02:00Moshe V'Aharon<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/QsGx0ZuUu8Y' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/QsGx0ZuUu8Y'/></object></p><p>A great rendition, from an authentic disciple of Reb Shlomo Carlebach. Those who want to lead a Carlebach could learn a lot from this video! Thank you Reb Hershy!</p></div>yitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08523302947845887661noreply@blogger.com0